Sealed in a Coffin
by Sodium Bicarb
Summary: When the third member of Team 7 dies, the Council must beg Uzumaki Naruto to join it so that Team 7 can enter the Chuunin Exams.
1. Chapter 1

**YOU SHOULD PROBABLY READ THE BOLD RANT BELOW. THE MAJORITY OF IT IS USEFUL! **

* * *

**To all the people who have hated this story because of its premise and finished reading the first chapter or more just to complain and rant, I'm so glad you read this (the story) because there's nothing that I like more than wasting an imbecile's time. I mean, really. This chapter is long. Spend your time doing something you like, not reading a story you can't believe in. If you can't suspend your belief, then get out. I'm tired of reading reviews that are nothing but nagging in hopes that there's something useful for me in there. I'm thankful for criticism, but criticism isn't the same as pettiness. **

**For people on the cusp of this: **

**1) Yes, I know that the Hokage should have more power over the Council since Konoha is a _shinobi _village, but the Sandaime lets his village get away with a lot; he's democratic. If I were him and decreed the 'you can't talk about the Kyuubi' law, I would have executed the people myself. In the village square. With a rusty guillotine, and then proceeded to divvy up their body parts for scientific research.  
**

**2) Chapter two mentions Naruto's name meaning 'Fishcake.' YES, I KNOW THAT IT MEANS 'MAELSTROM!' Geez. It's a joke. My mom writes in simplified Chinese while my dad writes traditional; jokes like this are pretty common in my household. I didn't realize that people would get up in arms about it! Because quite honestly, I know that you're annoyed that there are ignorant people out there who _do _mess this up, but to those of us who read and write Asian languages, this is usually just a funny anecdote to tell someone during an elevator ride.  
**

**3) If you have questions about the garden, wait. **

**4) If you have questions about the title, wait.  
**

***That is all for now. If I get any reoccurring complaints again, I'll post it here. :) I hope that by putting this at the beginning of chapter 1, I can head off some of the complaints. :P **

Sorry to all the people with lovely criticisms or encouraging things to say. I do hope that anything I post here helps you, and thank you, thank you, thank you, for everything.

* * *

**Disclaimer:** Anything you recognize isn't mine.

**Title:** Sealed in a Coffin

**Genre: **Naruto

**Summary: **When the third member of Team 7 dies, the Council must beg Uzumaki Naruto to join it so that Team 7 can enter the Chuunin Exams.

**Author's Note: **I haven't written creatively in at least a year and it's been many many years since I wrote fanfiction, so I apologize in advance for any grammar, formatting, or plotline issues. I don't have a beta, but I did reread over most of the chapter multiple times. Reviews are welcome, but not necessary. For me, this was just a nice exercise to ease me back into writing. :)

I hope you enjoy it.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

Uzumaki Naruto knew from a young age that he wasn't like other children. Other children weren't spit upon or mugged; they weren't thrown out of shops and refused service. They weren't guilty until proven innocent. They were loved and cherished like a precious treasures. He didn't mind though, because sure he didn't have a mom or a dad, but he still had his precious people. He had Hokage-jiji and Itachi-san and Iruka-sensei, all whom taught him even more.

Hokage-jiji taught him how to deal and sort with paperwork, even though Naruto wasn't going to have any when _he _was Hokage.

Itachi taught him all about being a proper shinobi. He taught him how to throw kunai and shuriken, taught him all of his handseals, his katas… taught him little things every time they met.

Iruka was the best. Most of the time, he taught Naruto how to cook, clean, read, write, do laundry, _boring stuff_, but every once in a while, Iruka would teach him how to prank.

Naruto _loved _pranking.

He promised the Hokage not to prank him so much because the old man was _busy_, but everyone else was fair game. And Naruto was all for equality.

He painted the Hokage mountain, tarred and feathered shinobi, rigged the sound of bees to play every time his least favorite shopkeepers left their shops, making them duck and cover (he thought it was only fair, since they always upped their prices when their least favorite demon child came in). After a month of constant pranking, Iruka made him promise that he would lay off for a while; civilians were jumpy and already paranoid shinobi were becoming _even more _paranoid.

Naruto agreed, if only because he figured that the anticipation was worse than anything he could think of.

And though his favorite people (who were also the most _awesome _people in the village, dattebayo!) taught him many things, the one thing that Naruto really wanted to learn was the only thing that they outright refused to tell him: why he was hated. It was a hatred that shinobi and civilians alike agreed on, no matter the vast amount of differences between the two.

At first he thought that it was just one of those things that he would learn with age. All the adults knew it. Maybe his family did something bad, and he would learn about it in an Academy history book. But if that was true, then there was no reason that he couldn't be told right now, right? There was no reason that he had to wait until he was _older_, he was already _six_.

The Hokage was very strict on the subject and made Naruto swear that he wouldn't go digging for information. Naruto had never seen the old man so serious, so he agreed. That old man didn't become Hokage for nothing, after all; he'd probably whoop Naruto's ass into next year if he disobeyed.

Iruka grew silent before drilling Naruto on exactly what the villagers did to make him come to the conclusion that they hated him. Iruka in mother-hen mode was a little like a massacre, so Naruto didn't ask him anymore for the sake Konoha's civilians.

Itachi patted his head and told him that if he had enough breath to ask questions, he had enough breath to run faster (except that there were less words said and more interpreted silences. It didn't matter though, because Naruto was quickly becoming proficient in Uchiha-ese).

At the end of his lesson, Itachi told him that if the Hokage ordered it, as a good ninja, he had to listen, so Naruto pretended to ignore the glares and focused on his training because _that's what good ninja do_. Jiji would tell him when the time was right, dattebayo.

But then jiji said that he couldn't be a shinobi because of the stupid Council.

"But you're the _Hokage_! They hafta listen to you!" he screamed. He remember Itachi's hand on his head, stilling him

"I wish that were true, my boy…"

"But I'm gonna be Hokage! I'm gonna make the villagers respect and love me, and I'm gonna protect them and save them and-" he screamed, but the old man just smiled sadly at him, the wide brim of his hat dipping down.

"Naruto, Naruto. I know." And he looked so sad when he said those last two words that Naruto stopped his rampage.

"But why?" He asked curiously. It couldn't be jiji's decision if he looked so sad after telling him.

The Hokage gave a weary sigh and pressed a palm against his temple.

"… Is it… is it because of the thing you can't tell me? The reason why the villagers all hate me?" Naruto asked quietly. Itachi dropped his hand to Naruto's shoulder and squeezed gently.

"Yes."

"Then why can't you tell me what it is?! Why does it stop me from being a ninja? AM I GOING TO DIE? IS THAT IT? I HAVE AN INCURABLE DISEASE?!" the boy shrieked. The other two people in the room gave external sighs.

"No, you don't have a disease, Naruto, but Hokage-sama, perhaps this is the time-" Itachi began.

"Weasel." The Hokage shot him a stern look, but Itachi was unfazed.

"With all due respect, sir, it's more harmful for him not to know. He's already thinking of worse situations," he said. Sarutobi agreed, a little. Naruto had an active imagination and would no doubt theorize a worse truth than just being a jailer. Not that being a jinchuuriki wasn't a terrible burden, it was, but at least Naruto's seal was stable. And other than making him the village pariah, the sealed demons almost always gave some advantages to their hosts.

Sarutobi stared sadly at his young charge. The Council was afraid that the fox would escape if Naruto learned to utilize chakra. They didn't understand anything about the seal, no matter how many times Sarutobi assured them. Some days Sarutobi wanted to leave the ignorant people on the Council with an unstable jinchuuriki so that they could see what a living, ticking time bomb really was like. Naruto was nothing like them; he was stable, cheerful, driven…

"Alright," he groused. Naruto's ears perked up.

"What do you know about the Third Shinobi War?" he started.

"The Fourth Hokage kicked butt?" Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. History never stuck with him.

"Yes, that is true," Sandaime gave a short chuckle. "But there was also a great, nine-tailed demon called the-"

"Kyuubi," Naruto finished. Then he gasped. The Hokage frowned.

"Yes, Naruto, but how did you know that?" The boy shifted from side to side.

"Er… some of the shop keepers call me 'Kyuubi brat' or 'demon scum.' It isn't too hard to put the two together, old man," he replied sheepishly. Itachi's lips pressed together in a firm line while the Sandaime reigned in his anger.

"Naruto. I want you to know that you're not the demon, just its container. The Fourth Hokage wanted you to be known as a hero after he sealed the Kyuubi in you as a baby."

"It's okay, old man! I knew that already! Besides, I'll be fighting for them, so they'll see that I'm not the Kyuubi," Naruto grinned, his left hand holding Itachi's arm as he gestured wildly. Itachi's lips quirked upwards in a fond smile.

"Naruto, they won't let you go to the Academy-" the Hokage said.

"Well…" Naruto thought for a moment, and then his face brightened. "Don't worry jiji! They just don't want me fightin', right? I can just be like your student Tsunade-baa-san! I'll be a _super _good medic and save _thousands_ of lives and then the village will respect me and _then _I'll become the Hokage, dattebayo!" Naruto nodded his head self-assuredly. Sarutobi laughed. No one could suppress Naruto's optimism.

"That's a good dream, but you have a little too much chakra to have fine control over it, Naruto."

"How can ya know that yet?! I don't even know how to use this 'chakra,'" the blond boy replied with air quotes. Itachi swatted his head.

"It's what you use to make a henge, Naruto." Sarutobi could've swore that he saw Itachi's eye roll underneath askewed Anbu mask that covered only the top part of the teen's face.

"Intuition. But there is an art that I believe that you would excel in, and if you master it, even the Council couldn't hold you back," Sarutobi began.

The boy's blue eyes grew larger as he gazed happily at him. Something that would make those old farts accept him? Dattebayo! Of course he would take it!

"Yeah, old man! I'll be so good at whatever it is that the world shall know me as the _god _of whatever it is! …Er… what is it?"

Sarutobi chuckled. If Minato's son didn't inherit some of his intuition in Fuuinjutsu, Sarutobi Hiruzen would eat his Hokage hat.

* * *

Just a week later, he and Iruka helped Naruto move into the Namikaze compound. He only said that the previous owner wouldn't mind Naruto moving in, and that the compound was well-protected from intruders and that there was a veritable library of fuuinjutsu scrolls. Naruto took it with the grace of a child who listened to his elders when it suited him, and he didn't even question the Hokage when the old man asked him to smear a little blood of his blood on the door. (He learned later that it was a Clan preservation seal that would only disengage when someone with a blood bond to the family smeared blood on it, and that led to him finding out who his father was.)

Iruka helped the boy acquaint himself with his new home while Sarutobi walked around the compound. Iruka didn't know what he expected, but he _didn't _expect to see dustless room stripped of personality but still full of furniture. Even the Hyuuga clan's rooms had more personality than this! The living room was colorless, but the couch was comfortable and the bookcases looked sturdy but didn't have a single book on them. As he inspected the rooms, checking for traps, he heard Naruto's exclamations of happiness.

"Look! Iruka! _Hot water!_"

"No more mold in my kitchen!"

"Sugoi! All of the windows have glass!"

And not for the first since he'd met Naruto, Iruka considered killing the orphanage matron.

"Come on, Naruto. Let's go pick a bedroom for you," Iruka ushered the boy into a hallway. The compound wasn't large, but it was built in a square formation with a courtyard in the middle. When guests entered, they passed through a long walkway where herbs, fruits, and vegetables were grown on both sides. Then, after they took off their shoes in the entryway, a sliding door in front of them could open to show them a view of the courtyard within, which held flowers instead of food, and a large, clear pod in the middle. Around the larger pond were smaller ponds which held varieties of fish.

If one were to travel through the hallways on either side, one would find the kitchen, empty rooms, and several studies (without books). This puzzled Iruka when he explored, but the Hokage chuckled at his confusion and called for Naruto to come over. They stood at the back of the back of the compound, in a hallway that faced the tall, stone wall that encased the compound.

"Naruto, could you please smear a little more of your blood on this wall?" the Hokage said. Naruto quirked a brow.

"Ok, jiji, but I think you might be going c-r-a-z-y…" but he did as he was told. The wall shimmered for a moment before a door appeared.

"Oh, good. I wasn't sure if the seals were deteriorated too much for that to work," the Hokage chuckled. Iruka's and Naruto's jaws hit the floor.

"…Ji-jiji! Is that what I'm gonna learn?" the boy exclaimed excitedly. The Hokage opened the door and nudged the two towards a previously hidden hallway.

The newly uncovered rooms had enough personality to make up for the frontal rooms. They were bright and eclectic. Orange chairs sat in a room with a purple couch in the secondary living room. The bedrooms were small, but cozy. Sarutobi stood next to Iruka, speaking softly.

"After the hundredth assassination attempt, the owner moved his living quarters back here and sealed them up. Only people without harmful intent and loyalty to the family can come through. He kept those front rooms for entertaining formal guests and assassins. I asked him what happened if someone tried to land in the "backyard," and he said that the assassin would sail over the actual rooms and land on the roof of the back of the square. Ingenious, really." Namikaze Minato was such an extraordinary shinobi that it made his death fatal blow to Konoha's power and made Sarutobi's search for a second successor that much harder. But if Minato was extraordinary when he picked up fuuinjutsu in his twenties, then Naruto would be _legendary _if he started now.

"I understand that you requested to live with Naruto, but your move and his disappearance from his apartment without a change of address would raise questions, especially so close to the Kyuubi festival. Eventually, someone is going to follow you and end up here. Now, I firmly believe in Minato's seals, but I don't expect anyone else to have the same blind devotion as I. I hope that after you've seen Minato's handiwork that you could entrust Naruto's safety to this house," Sarutobi finished. With his peripheral vision, he saw the sad understanding in Iruka's eyes. It'll be alright; it wasn't like Sarutobi banned them from having ramen together.

* * *

With jiji and sensei's departure, Naruto paced around his new bedroom nervously. Iruka made some fried rice before he left, looking decidedly uncomfortable in the pink and white kitchen; jiji, on the other hand, seemed perfectly at home. They left right after dinner, but before that, they left several books on chakra, history, etiquette, and calligraphy. Fuuinjutsu, jiji explained, would only work if Naruto fixed his handwriting, which looked like meaningless fuuinjutsu diagrams themselves.

Naruto stacked the books on the floor by his bed and willed himself to sleep, but sleep didn't come willingly. He had to succeed. Jiji said that if he managed to learn fuuinjutsu, there was no way that the Council could refuse to let him be a ninja, but what if he was no good at it? What if he couldn't do it at all?

No. He could do it, dattebayo! He wouldn't let any of his precious people down.

* * *

"Hey Naruto, I have an assignment for you," Iruka said, holding a slightly crumpled mission report at arm length as he glared at it.

"Yeah, sensei?" Naruto swung his legs off the stool and ambled to the man's side. Iruka directed a sigh towards the ceiling.

"A new missions desk chuunin let this report through, but it's practically illegible. I was wondering if you could transcribe it for me? Usually I'd hunt the shinobi involved, but you need to practice your handwriting, and this mission isn't classified."

Naruto nodded his head, took the report, and went to sit on his stool again. After a week of studying the books, he'd only made progress on the calligraphy. He'd felt stupid after rereading the same passage about chakra for the third time, then failing to do the chakra control exercise that the chapter outlined after trying for the whole day, but Iruka assured him that he only needed better studying methods. Iruka's kind words encouraged him to try harder.

Naruto squinted at the pages.

"This isn't so bad, sensei! We could both easily read this!" he exclaimed. Iruka smiled.

"That's because I'm constantly grading Academy students' essays, and your handwriting used to be as bad as that. Trust me; we're a part of the small percentage of shinobi that can read that report."

"Whatever, sensei." Iruka's chuckled at Naruto's consequential pout. Iruka would have liked to say that the two sat in silence and were extremely productive, but silence was never possible when Naruto was involved. He would transcribe a paragraph, then a nin would arrive to turn in his report, which Iruka would look over and mostly likely reject (because for some ungodly reason, most nin, especially Anbu, thought that they could get away with turning in reports with five lines and written on the back of a muddy receipt just because the mission was classified and no one other than the Hokage would read it) and Naruto would rapid fire questions about ninja life. Within two hours, Iruka had to ward off five death threats, none of which had to do with Naruto's secret.

"How much have you done?" Iruka asked an hour before his shift was over. Naruto sat beside him, tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth as he concentrated on forming his letters.

"Almost there!" Naruto waved a dismissive hand towards Iruka, who smiled to himself and kept quiet until the boy finished.

"All done!" Naruto thrust a finished, transcribed report under Iruka's nose. The man hummed and began leafing through the papers. He circled several spelling errors that Naruto had made. Then he handed the marked paper back. Naruto groaned.

"_Sensei!_"

"Your handwriting has definitely improved, but you made some mistakes. I expect a revised copy tomorrow." Naruto wasn't tricked by those eye-smiles; the man was pure evil.

"If you do well tomorrow, I promise to treat you to Ichiraku's."

"RAMEN!"

* * *

"Naruto-kun."

"Mmff? Itachi? Waah you doin' here?" He mumbled as he faced the shadow crouched on his window sill. The man's Anbu mask was skewed on his face, so that Naruto could see the spinning wheels of the Sharingan.

"I'm going to be leaving Konoha for a while. I-"

"Wait! Why?! You can't lea-"

"Naruto. I'm leaving. I'm here to tell you that you should start to harness the Kyuubi's power."

"Its… power? But I don't want to be a demon!"

"Don't be foolish. You two are separate beings, but you can draw on the beast's chakra, which is infinitely more potent than human chakra. It'll be best if you learn to utilize it," Itachi finished. With the moonlight framing his crouched figure, Itachi looked more like an Anbu than all the times that Naruto saw him bloody and triumphant in the Hokage's office. He nodded mutely.

"What about your brother? He'll miss you." _'I'll miss you._'

Itachi sighed, partly fond, partly exasperated.

"Do not worry about my brother; that's taken care of," and then he leapt off the window sill and into the night. If not for the Uchiha massacre that happened the same night, Naruto would have sworn that it was all a dream.

* * *

"Why did Itachi leave?" When the Hokage didn't answer him, Naruto didn't ask him again. It felt like what Naruto dubbed as 'the Kyuubi conspiracy.' Naruto couldn't believe the reports that said that Itachi murdered his entire clan except for his younger brother. Itachi wasn't blood-thirsty; he was the perfect Anbu. For him to kill his clan…

… and for him to visit Naruto the same night…

"Are you sure that I can't go to the Academy?" He never met Itachi's younger brother, but surely they could be friends.

"…I'm afraid not, Naruto… but how are your studies coming along? I heard from Iruka-kun that your calligraphy and handwriting has really improved."

None of the occupants in the room commented on the blatant misdirection.

* * *

"Make sure that your hand is steady."

"Your last stroke was a little sloppy."

"Is the ink too watery?" Iruka twittered above Naruto, scrutinizing the soon-to-be explosive tag.

"I got this, sensei!" the boy snapped back, but Iruka saw the beads of sweat on the blond's face. Before they could purchase the appropriate paper, the Hokage informed them about the dangers of an incorrect seal, complete with a slideshow of pictures.

"Are those fu-"

"Yes, sensei. They're pointed in the right direction." Naruto rolled his eyes as he stood up and admired his handiwork. The complete seal was obviously drawn by an amateur, but it was precise enough for the seal to still work. Well, hopefully.

"Ready sensei?!" Naruto turned expectantly at Iruka. Iruka gave a quick prayer to the shinobi gods and nodded. The duo stood in one of the lesser used training grounds, one filled with enough potholes and rocks for them to hide behind.

"Okay. _Kage no Bushin!_" And a second Naruto popped onto the field.

"Heya Boss!" it waved.

"Ok soldier! Time to activate the explosive tag!"

"Yatta!"

The original Naruto and Iruka hid behind a rock. After expressing his trouble with the bushin, the Hokage taught him the _Kage no Bushin_, even if it was a kinjutsu. He rationalized to Iruka that having solid clones would allow Naruto to test his seals safely, especially if he started creating new ones. If the Council ever asked, he'd tell them that it was a small investment in a fuuinjutsu master.

"Here I go!" the clone screamed.

_…pop!… BBBBBBBBBBBBBBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM MMMM!_

Iruka immediately pulled a standing Naruto down behind the rock, crouching down as small as they could go. All around them tree branches and debris flew. The all-encompassing light left spots in their eyes minutes after they'd closed them. In his head, Iruka thanked the Hokage for teaching Naruto shadow clones.

"Er… so we know that it works?" Naruto stated hesitantly. Iruka held a hand to his heart; teaching Naruto was more dangerous than assassinations.

"…yeah… maybe less chakra next time?" he replied when his heartbeats returned to normal.

"…yeah… that stupid clone put his all into it, too enthusiastic… but at least he popped before the exploding tag ignited. It would have sucked to die that way…"

"…yeah…"

They stood up and stared at the center of the training grounds, taking in the crater and the scorch marks on the trees. Anbu arrived an instant later, questioning them and assessing the damage, but the duo stared absently at Naruto's handiwork.

They spent the next three months working exclusively with different types of explosive tags. If only so they could create a controlled version of the huge explosive they saw with the first tag.

* * *

"Old man! I can earn my keep now!" Naruto stood on the other side of the Sandaime's desk, head lolling left and right on the wood. Two years of living in the compound and eating healthy did wonders to the boy's stature. He was still a little on the short side, but now he was at a healthy weight.

"I've told you before, Naruto, that your allowance is from the orphan fund-"

"-I know that, but you and Iruka-nii are always giving me gifts or treating me to ramen. I just wanted to make some money so that I could take _you _guys out to ramen…" the boy blushed, looking away from the Hokage even though his head was still on the desk.

Sarutobi chuckled. The blond must have found out that Iruka's birthday was coming up soon.

"Okay, Naruto. What are you suggesting?"

"So, last Friday I was with Iruka-nii at the missions desk, and this Hunter came in with this head wrapped up in a shirt, and Iruka shrieked because it smelled to high heaven and was dripping everywhere! The hunter said that she had to drop off the head immediately because she was dripping all over the floor too," at this, Naruto motioned with his arms the size of the wound. Sarutobi nodded.

"And she dropped off these slashed scrolls. I knew they were storage scrolls, so I asked sensei why didn't she just put the head in there, but apparently damaged scrolls can't be used because the seal is disrupted, and apparently scrolls like that are always damaged in a fight because they're so noticeable, so I said, why don't they just carry smaller scrolls? But then sensei said that the seals can't be condensed to fit in that tiny space." Naruto stopped and rummaged through his pockets.

"So, I thought, why don't they just put shrinking seals on the scrolls, because I'd just read about them. Turns out, they're a little too big to put on the handle of the scroll, which is where I would put it. I mean, it guess that I could integrate it with the storage seal, but then there's always a chance that I might make the item super tiny… And the storage seal stable, and I'm not good enough yet to mess with time-space seals, so this way's just easier. I made some modifications to the shrinking seal, just several substitutions, and after several tries, I made what I wanted!" He lifted his hands and in them was a scroll the size of finger.

"And it's _super easy _to use! At first I made the seal activated by putting chakra in it, but I thought, what if someone poached it? I mean, if kids can pickpocket, then there's no reason that ninja's can't pickpocket each other, right? So I made it blood activated, like the clan house seals, and bam! Personalized Hunter nin scrolls!" He held one out.

The Hokage picked it up and began inspecting it. The seals were clean, free of errant twigs in the brush, and the seals were simple enough that he mostly what was going on. Amazing. If this worked as well as Naruto said, the Hunters would be worshipping the boy!

"But I'm not sure about deterioration of the seal. All the scrolls said that it wouldn't last more than ten years, but I'm almost positive that it'll last at least seven. But if they need for it to last longer, I could-"

"No, no. Hunter nin usually retire before their tenth year. And I could also issue new ones after five years. But, who is this scroll attuned to?"

"Oh! Well, that one's mine. I've been field testing it with groceries and stuff. It's held up for two months so far." Sarutobi stared incredulously at Naruto's peace sign. '_This boy…'_ he thought fondly.

"Alright. Could you make one for me? I need to present it to the Oinin captain for approval, then I'll need you to make more so that they can do actual field testing. If they like it, I'll draw up a contract for you, and we'll bring Iruka to make sure that you understand everything."

"Yatta, old man! I already made a complete seal; I just need your blood to complete it." At this, he drew out a normal sized scroll and held it sideways to the Hokage.

"Just put several drops of blood in the middle of that circle there. On both sides," he pointed to the center of the handle, where a clear spot was, surrounded by tiny fuuinjutsu scribbles.

"What happens if blood gets on the seal instead of in the center?" He asked curiously.

"Nothing, really. That just makes the scroll smell faintly of blood. If the blood only gets in the circle, then the seal absorbs it all," he shrugged. "I figured it's not such a big deal as long as you don't stab yourself too deep to get some blood."

The Hokage bit his thumb and let several drops of blood land into each circle. The blood instantly disappeared. Nodding to himself, Naruto took back the scroll and drew a symbol over the circle where the blood disappeared into, "so that blood relatives can't use it," he supplied.

Sarutobi nodded. Angry relatives stealing family heirlooms was a common problem, one that was hard to fix since blood seals were considering the most secure.

A firefly light flashed from the sealed end as Naruto put chakra in it.

"All done!" the scroll remained its original size. "So, to make it smaller and back, just rub little of your blood on the handles. Also, you can't open the scroll unless it's in its original form, so the size seal doubles as a security thing." Naruto finished proudly.

Sarutobi mentally agreed that it was well deserved.

"I'll send a messenger hawk after the Oinin captain has decided."

"Ok jiji! But he's going to agree because I'm awesome! Dattebayo! Take _that, _stupid Council!" Naruto yelled, shaking his fists angrily at the sky as he walked out of the office.

* * *

After learning the Academy three, it seemed as if Naruto's interest in the shinobi arts dwindled. Iruka didn't know whether to be happy or concerned because Naruto's disinterest was proportional to his devotion to fuuinjutsu. He still did his taijutsu katas, but he had virtually no interest in ninjutsu.

Iruka never though that there would be a day when he would try to _encourage_ a student to learn the subject.

He'd brought several scrolls with D-ranked jutsus to the compound and introduced each one to Naruto. The boy listened attentively, but after a moment's thought, he reached for the Doton (earth). Really. Out of a pile with fire (always a favorite), water, wind, and earth techniques, the boy chose Doton. _Really?_

"Er… are you sure?" Iruka stared at the scroll as if it were the goldfish in a pile of trout.

"Huh? Of course! This is perfect filling up any holes I make on the training grounds! Last time we tested that exploding tag, jiji made me fill in all those holes by myself while you were at the Academy teaching. I mean, sure, I got paid, but I wasn't allowed to use Kage Bushin at all!" he wailed.

'_Put that way…'_ Iruka shook his head. At least Naruto picked a useful (to him) jutsu instead of a flashy one.

_'When did he start growing up?_' he thought fondly. True to karma, Naruto made the hand seals right there. In the living room.

_…ru—m-b-l-e… rum—bl—e… rumb-le… rumble…. RUMBLE…. RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE- _

And then an earthen wall sprang up from the floorboards, ruining everything in its path.

"Hehe…probably should have done that outside." Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"NARUTO!"

* * *

'**Hello, kit.**' Naruto craned his neck as he glanced at the giant demon fox in his head… stomach… body. Whatever.

"Kyuubi," he replied. The fox stared at him for several seconds more before laying down and resting his head on his front paws.

'**You have finally taken that cursed man's words to heart,**' it stated, yawning. Its long canines glinted dangerously in the dim light.

"Itachi? Yeah…" Naruto mumbled distractedly, still taking in the sight of the demon fox. _A demon in his body! _He watched the flowing tails, thrumming up and down impatiently, the sharpened claws, the elongated canines, the smug grin… If anything was nightmares personified, it would be this.

The fox gave him another disinterested glance before closing its eyes.

"I want to offer a truce," the boy said. The Kyuubi didn't even open an eye.

'**So that I won't try to devour your soul whole? Again?**'

Naruto remembered the last time he almost died while testing a new seal. Not fun times.

"Yes. But because I think that I your chakra could be key to making some of the more intricate seals work." Or kill him. But Fortune favors the bold, and he was certainly being bold.

'**And why, puny human, should I care about that?' **

This was it. His ace in the hole.

"Because I think that I can give you a corporeal form. I-"

'**Impertinent brat! Do not lie to me! The Shinigami's will cannot be bypassed!'** It reared its head, tailed lashing at the sewer walls as its angry eyes bore into Naruto's soul. The boy willed himself to speak, but his legs trembled. This was the same beast that destroyed Konoha.

He took in a deep breath.

"STUPID FOX! Do you think that I would offer something like that if I wasn't sure that it could happen?!No one's stupid enough to lie to a freakin' demon!" Naruto bared his teeth and growled, leading to a staring contest between the two.

"Ahem," Naruto coughed when it was clear that he wasn't going to win, "I've been reading some Uzumaki scrolls in the library. I started reading them because I thought that it would tell me about my family history, but I it turned out to contain complex seals. One of the seals discussed making a bushin after the caster's elemental affinity in conjunction with three seals. The seals would strengthen and stabilize the bushin by channeling the element through the caster. If that's successful, the bushin could theoretically survive forever because it draws upon nature's chakra instead of human chakra," he explained.

'**… show me these seals, kit,**' Kyuubi said quietly, eye opening.

"Um, how do I do that?"

'**Just think of the memory, and we'll be able to see it**.'

The sewer walls shimmered before color began to bleed onto them. Naruto spun around in circles, fascinated as his memories played on the wall for the Kyuubi to see.

"The author of the scrolls said that whenever he tried to create one of those bushin, the seals on his hands, the second and third, they fizzled out. He theorized that it was because he didn't have enough chakra or chakra control to make the chakra flow into the symbols and stay there. The one on the ground worked fine, though.

I figured that if I used your chakra, which is many times more potent, I won't have to worry keeping a steady amount flowing to the seals as much; I'd just have to put in a little bit of your chakra once or twice to activate the seals."

'**And if you screw up, you could explode your hands off,**' Kyuubi snorted. Naruto grimaced at the thought.

"And then you'll just heal them. Because I don't think that you want a hands-less vessel if you can help it, and I would have blown off my hands for _you_," Naruto replied cheekily. Kyuubi's canines made another appearance as it grinned.

'**I could kill all of your once I'm in that bushin.**'

"I thought about that too. Only your spirit would transfer into the bushin; your chakra and essence would still remain with me. And since natural chakra is less potent than demon chakra, any techniques that you'll try to use will probably fail. So you'll just be able to roam around. I mean, this place is pretty depressing," he spread his arms around. Water dripped from the sewer ceiling. At least, he hoped it was water.

'**… you have thought this through. I approve. You may call me Kurama, kit.**'

"Er… thank you, Kurama-sama."

'**I am surprised, though, that you did not ask me why I destroyed your miserable village,**' Kurama asked off-handedly as Naruto was preparing to leave. The boy looked up.

"Honestly? I'm afraid of your answer." With a rueful smile, Naruto disappeared from his mindscape.

* * *

When he was in a mood, Naruto tended to his garden. The courtyard usually maintained itself, considering that it was just full of decorative, pretty flowers. The only thing he found a practical use for were these purple flowers that grew on the roots of Japanese maple by the largest pond. He'd read in one of the books that it was good for coughs and fevers; it was also fragrant and slightly sweet so he frequently boiled it with his tea. The other flowers were only good for attracting bees, which he wasn't fond of at all.

The front yard, however, was filled with useful plants. Along the eastern wall was a large garden already tilled and planted. There were rows for eggplants, carrots, vegetables of all types, and surrounding that plot were fruit trees, but only one of each fruit. It gave him just enough for the season. He could just plant some more if he wanted to sell some.

Along the western wall, beyond poisonous berry bushes, was a plot full of herbs. Naruto and Kurama spent weeks there with an assortment of gardening and plant books, trying to figure out what each herb was. So far, they'd only identified the common ones, such as an herb that he could ground up and make into a paste for burns, and one for itching. He also figured out what poison ivy was the hard way, when he touched a vine growing along the wall.

Naruto realized early on that he could transfer his chakra into the ground and into the plants, which made them healthier. They didn't grow any faster, but once they were done, they rarely had any mutations from crop diseases. That, and channeling chakra made his plants sensitive to him, or more precisely, his chakra.

Once, when Iruka came to visit, they'd entered the herb garden to pick some tea leaves. Iruka approached some of the flowers, fascinated because he'd never seen any like them in Konoha, but as soon as he touched them, they closed. Vines shrank from him too. But when Naruto came up behind him, exclaiming how weird that was, the flowers reopened and vines poked at his ankles.

"Huh. That's strange," he shrugged, but Iruka stood there, thinking.

"You feed them your chakra, right?" he asked.

"Well, yeah. I do the same thing as when I walk on water, but you know, on earth." Naruto shrugged.

"I wonder what would happen if I fed them my chakra… could I try?" Naruto nodded.

Iruka started to spread his chakra into the ground, but the ground repelled it.

'Could it be that the ground is too saturated with Naruto's chakra? What about the air?' Iruka asked himself curiously. He stopped channeling his chakra to his feet and instead made the handseals.

"_Mizu no Bushin!" _he cried out loud. A watery image appeared for a second before it dissipated. Seconds later, tree roots shot out of the ground and wrapped themselves around his legs. He stood, trapped and dumbfounded for several minutes before turning towards Naruto, "Well, it looks like I don't have to worry about ninja breaking into your home." Iruka's eyes held a glint as he imagined what would happen to enemy shinobi. He'd only used a minimum amount of chakra because the air was extremely humid, and it wasn't that hard to draw out the water, but if he'd put in any more chakra… he didn't doubt that the root would've encased him, and that the twitching vines would've been added to the fray as well.

"Er, sorry, sensei," the blond apologized as he coaxed the vines to let the man go. Iruka waved his hand dismissively and smiled.

"Don't worry about it, Naruto. They're a good defense. Come on. We have some tea leaves to pick."

* * *

Naruto researched more into giving Kurama a solid form, but was reluctant to try anything until he could copy the seals perfectly. His calligraphy was passable now, much better than most adults and on par with the leaders of the Noble Clans, but it still lacked the easy grace of the calligraphy in the scrolls he read.

A man named Jiraiya added small flourishes to his symbols that didn't affect the seal, but made it more like a design; it also assured that if someone tried to copy it exactly, they would fail if they so much as accidentally made a flourish a millimeter off. Naruto liked to look at his designs, but if he adapted it, it would become cumbersome for very complex seals.

Uzumaki Mito looped her symbols together (when she wasn't drawing teaching diagrams), which must have worked for her, but wouldn't work for him. She could string four separate seals together and make them look like one large one. With a cursory glance, it would look like a very intricate seal, but upon closer inspection, one could spot the separate, simple seals. For her to know exactly which extraneous stokes she could add to confuse enemies and discourage the copying of her original seals spoke to her proficiency. Naruto wasn't that proficient yet, or maybe ever, but she really did have nice handwriting; he liked to read it.

Naruto liked Namikaze Minato's seals the best. They were clean and precise, each character exactly where it should be. They looked like they were easy to copy until Naruto tried, and realized that a stroke too long or too short, a flick at the wrong angle, or lines too thick made the entire character grossly mutated. Every mistake was emphasized.

But he was still inexperienced. He still had time to develop his own style.

He was about to dip is brush into the inkwell for some more practice when his wrist gave a twitch. He sighed; that was Kurama's signal that he should take a break.

"Baka fox, I need to practice to be fuuinjutsu master," he grumbled, but headed towards the kitchen for a snack anyways.

'**Brat. You'll never be a decent ninja if you don't practice your other skills**,' Kurama growled. '**You have an enormous amount of chakra, yet you don't feel a need to use****it. What a waste.**' He was sick of watching the boy kneeling on the ground painting squiggly figures. He wanted some action, dammit.

"I use it," the boy shrugged, "I just feel that it's more useful to channel my chakra into the soil to grow my plants. They filter out the poisonous properties of your chakra and use the natural part to their advantage. This way, I'm slowly increasing my capacity while having fresh fruits and vegetables," he shrugged as he grabbed a plate of onigiri and headed towards the courtyard. He loved sitting by the ponds.

The fox mumbled something about how he'd prefer some meat, and maybe a little more eggplant.

Naruto walked on top of the largest pond, small ripples spreading from his feet. In his cage, Kurama rolled his eyes; Naruto did chakra control exercises, but didn't use any techniques that required fine control.

'**You do know that I am a veritable wealth of ninjutsu, right?**'

"And?" Naruto closed his eyes and meditated.

'**I could teach you.**'

"Not interested."

'**Brat. I know that you love your fuuinjutsu and all, but ninjutsu has its own perks. You shouldn't dismiss it.**'

Naruto sighed.

"I know. It's just… the Council won't let me into the Academy, but jiji said that I had a chance if I learned fuuinjutsu because not many people know it. If I don't master it, then I can't convince the Council that I'm ready to be a ninja, and then what's the point of knowing ninjutsu? All shinobi know ninjutsu, but no one knows a lot about fuuinjutsu. I need to prove that they _need _me to be a ninja, that I can help protect the village…" the boy stared sadly at his food. Kurama stayed silent.

'… **brat. Your Council's stupid. You may not be a master now, but you're still young. But I can help you show them that you're irreplaceable." **

"Really?" Naruto looked up from his food even though there was no one in front of him. He should really try to make more progress on creating a body for Kurama if he wanted to avoid feeling like a crazy person.

'**Don't doubt me, gaki. I've lived longer than all the miserable humans in your Council combined. Because of your huge chakra reserves, I can teach you demon jutsus. Of course, they're more effective with my chakra, but they'll also be twice as destructive. Because of the amount of chakra needed, it'll practically assure that if anyone other than another jinchuuriki tried to copy the jutsu, they'll be so drained afterwards that they'll feel the chakra drain,' **Kurama chuckled. That'll show those spinning eyed bastards.

Naruto smiled brightly.

"Kyuu-chan! That's great! You're like, the best demon _ever!_" Naruto exclaimed excitedly.

'**Don't call me Kyuu-chan!'**

"Kyuu-chan!" Being able to do jutsus, like a real ninja! Iruka would be so happy when he heard!

* * *

"YOU WHAT?" Pasta dropped from Iruka's open mouth. Naruto grimaced.

They were in Iruka's apartment, where Naruto made pasta for his favorite sensei. It was something that Kurama, an unexpected, but fantastic cook, suggested. Maybe they would add in more poblano peppers next time?

"What? You always wanted me to learn ninjutsu." Naruto's forehead crinkled.

"I DID, BUT NOT FROM _IT_!" Iruka shrieked, then he whispered, "What if it tries to get out?"

"Er… I don't think that he'd do that."

Iruka's eyes narrowed.

"Why?"

Naruto gulped. He probably shouldn't tell Iruka that he already promised the demon a body…

'**Tell him that it's because of the seal,'** Kurama murmured sleepily.

"It's because of the seal?"

Iruka's eyes narrowed into fine slits before he pointed his fork in Naruto's face.

"Are you _sure?_ _What are you hiding from me?_"

"…" Naruto went cross-eyed staring at the fork. He blinked as he looked away from it and sighed.

"He just doesn't want a weak vessel, sensei. He told me that they're others like me, and that they'll probably come after me at some point because some of the other demons are c-r-a-z-y. If I die, then he dies, so he's trying to keep me alive for as long as possible."

Iruka sank back into his chair, a hand held to his forehead.

"Alright, but I think that we should tell Hokage-sama immediately," he finally said.

"Okay."

* * *

By the time that Naruto was eleven, he was proficient enough in fuuinjutsu to create minor seals, several which were used by the Anbu Corps. He also had a long-standing contract with the Oinin for personalized, shrinking bounty scrolls, which gave him a steady income, unlike his commissioned work with the Anbu.

But he was still a long way from being a master. The Hokage remarked that it was amazing what he accomplished already, and that he would contact his student to help Naruto with some of the theory that he was having trouble with. It was a shame that Kurama didn't know much about fuuinjutsu because the fox was really good at explanations.

_ 'But,' _Naruto supposed, _'If he understood seals, he could probably find a way to meddle with the Shiki Fuuin… yeah…'_

He was, however, scarily proficient with his affinity. He knew many demonic jutsus, but he never felt the need to use them. All he needed was to weave some of his chakra into the air, let it circulate for a little, and then he could just _will _the wind to do his bidding. He practiced his control until it was so precise that he started to cut dead blooms on his rose bushes with wind, instead of finding a pair of scissors.

It also helped with creating a solid body for Kurama. With his affinity attuned as it was, it was easy for him to make a wind clone. The only issue was that Kurama refused to let him use any more than half a tail of demon chakra until he managed to strengthen the compound's wards so that the Anbu couldn't detect them. But that day wasn't far away. Naruto already made adjustments to the seals he found in the scrolls, and he'd already found and modified the seals already in place.

* * *

**'Stop being nervous. Nervousness makes your lines sloppy.' **

Naruto took a calming breath before finishing the seals on his hands, which trailed up his arms. Today was the day. He was going to give Kurama a body. They'd modified the original seal slightly, made the body stronger at the cost of tying it to the compound. Last week, Naruto placed seals on each wall that would amplify the natural energy in the compound so that the body could fully sustain itself.

They rehearsed this a hundred times: went over the hand seals, practiced each inked seal, practiced wind manipulation, practiced, practiced, and practiced. And now, it was time for the real deal.

Naruto was in the front yard. Because the atmosphere was already saturated with his chakra, it was easier for him to manipulate the wind there, and since the plants were already used to absorbing chakra, they could siphon any stray demonic chakra before it hit the wards as an extra precaution.

The circular seal that Naruto drew on the ground was already imbued with his chakra and was pulling in wind like a cyclone.

**'Draw out my chakra slowly, kit.' **

Naruto focused on wild chakra that thrashed around in his coils, condensing it as he pulled it towards hands. He'd increased his capacity to two tails, which would hopefully be enough.

The seals glowed red as wisps of demonic chakra swirled through the ink, encompassing his hands. He concentrated on looping the majority of it around his fingers.

He flashed through the hand seals just as he felt his coils burn.

"_Kaze no Bushin!" _He felt all of the demonic chakra being pulled to his hands, then felt it disappear. The more he pumped into his hands, the faster he felt it disappear. It felt as if he was pumping the chakra into a black hole.

'_Do I even have hands anymore?'_ he wondered to himself and the seals pulled and pulled at the demonic chakra, and when there was no more, it started pulling on _his. _

_'Shit,'_ he thought as it kept pulling. He tried to break his hands free from the ram seal, but the pressure of chakra kept his hands still. He'd closed his eyes earlier because of the bright flash that the circular seal gave off, but he opened them now. In front of him was a dark red tornado that was barely being constrained to the seal. He looked up to see a hazy image of the fox's predatory face.

_'Oh Kami. I destroyed Konoha…'_ Horrified, he didn't know if he was grateful or not that he passed out as the seals sucked more of his chakra.

* * *

Naruto opened his eyes to see a shock of red hair. He felt like crap, especially when he struggled to sit up, but at least his home was still standing. And if he wasn't being restrained by Anbu, it must mean that Kurama didn't destroy Konoha. Or that everyone else was dead.

"Kit. You may never feel this again because between you _will never do something this stupid again. _Chakra exhaustion! With reserves like ours, it should be an impossibility!" a red-haired male threw his arms up in the air and scowled at the sky before turning back to Naruto, who raised an eyebrow. Was Kurama always this dramatic?

"Chakra exhaustion! You could have stopped. _Should _have stopped it! We didn't wait this many years only to have you _die! _Once you felt it pulling on _your _chakra, you should have stopped the flow immediately! It's not like we couldn't try once again once you learned to control more of my tails! I've been trapped in that stupid seal for _twelve years_; a few more weren't going to hurt!" The man continued his rant. Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Gomen, Kyuu-nii. I figured that if we kept pushing it back, I'll never happen. And you can teach me taijutsu properly, now. I've always been bad at it…" Naruto pushed his bottom lip outwards and made his eyes as big and watery as possible. Kurama twitched. The boy looked like a newborn baby kit.

"Fine," he huffed. "But you're on bed rest for the rest of the week." The red-head pierced Naruto with a glare before heading towards the door. The man somehow managed to find a white and red _kannushi _to fit him, although he wasn't wearing the hat, which just wasn't fair because all Naruto ever found in the compound were pots and pans.

"But," the fox paused dramatically at the doorway, "the week after will be hell week for you," he chuckled evilly. Naruto groaned and covered his head with his sheets.

* * *

True to his promise, taijutsu training was like a cruel, constant mugging.

They had matches where Kurama would thorough trash Naruto until the boy felt like he was black and blue, but he benefited greatly from the brutal hands on learning. He was never going to be a calculating fighter, especially not with an opponent as fast as Kurama. He had to rely on his instincts to fend off the fox, and with each passing day, his body felt lighter as he dodged. His footwork was shoddy, but after slipping, twisting his ankle, and some advice, it was improving.

He worried about not learning standard taijutsu, but Kurama assured him that this was better. A set style made moves predictable; certain stances were awkward to defend or attack with. By training Naruto's instinctive side, he'd be able to defend or attack no matter his position. Incorporating a specific style could always come later.

And in the name of making Naruto's instincts sharper, the demon ambushed the boy at all hours. He flew from the ceilings, from shadowed corners, from the pond, _everywhere_. The only thing Naruto was grateful for was that the fox hadn't recovered enough chakra to start spewing fire at him or something. The demon seemed content to let the body siphon chakra on its own instead of forcing it to and potentially destroying some plants, which more sentimental than Naruto thought that Kurama would be.

But when the demon was at full chakra capacity for his new body…

Naruto shuddered.

* * *

"… Team Seven, Hayasaki Akio, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke, your sensei is Hatake Kakashi…"

* * *

When Iruka left the Academy, he let out a huge sigh of relief. He had a couple weeks of vacation to look forward to before a remedial class for the genin that failed their sensei's test started. Two weeks of sleeping in and not having to grade papers. Maybe he'd visit Naruto.

'He would have graduated with this class…' Iruka thought sadly. Was Naruto aware that this could've been his graduation day?

'Probably not, but I should bring some Ichiraku ramen over just in case,' he chuckled.

* * *

"This is foxfire. It cannot be doused by water, but it doesn't have to burn either. It doesn't even have to be hot. Most of its properties are generally up to the caster." Kurama demonstrated with a red flame nestled in his palm. With a bored expression, he lowered his hand until the flame slid from his palm and floated on the ground.

"In some places, they're called will-o-wisps." And the flame split into smaller ones, each bobbing up and down in a line. Naruto watched, entranced, as they lit up the walkway.

"Now, write the demon seal for protection on the palm that you're going to use to summon the fire so that you won't accidentally burn off your hand on your first try."

Naruto did as he was told.

"Foxfire isn't created like a jutsu; it's more making your chakra so dense that you can see it."

Naruto focused, much like when he created Kurama's body.

A spark flew into the air, but soon fizzled out. Naruto scrunched up his nose in dismay.

He forced more chakra into his palm. An ember glowed atop the protection seal. Excited, he pushed more.

_Dzzzzzzzzz Dzzzzzzzz _

"Dang it!" he yelped as the doorbell rang. Foxfire spewed from his palm and landed on the ground.

Kurama raised his head and faced door.

"It's your sensei," he shrugged before turning back towards Naruto and simultaneously stomping out the foxfire before it burned any flowers.

"Iruka? Yay!" the blond rushed past Kurama before turning back sharply.

"Shoot. He doesn't know about you! What do we do?!" the boy panicked.

"Tell him the truth. It's not like you could ever keep a secret from him anyways," the man shrugged. It was true; Naruto was a horrible liar, especially to his precious people.

"Right. 'Hey, sensei! This is the Kyuubi. I made him a body. No, he's not going to be destroy Konoha. Why? Oh, he just promised me that he wouldn't.' Uh huh. _That's _going to go well," was the sarcastic reply.

"Foxes do not break their promises." Kurama shrugged his shoulders again.

"Hey! Maybe you could hide in your room? He might not stay long. He could just be here to ask me out to ramen!" Naruto chirped excitedly.

"If you think that I'm going to hide like some forbidden pet-"

"Naruto! Are you home?" Iruka's worried voice carried over the wall.

"Coming, sensei!" Naruto called back. He gave Kurama a dirty look.

"Fine. But let him down gently. Don't illusion fox ears and nine tails like you did last week. I thought that I was going to die of a heart attack," Naruto spat.

Naruto stomped over to his door, trying to fuel his anger so that nervousness wouldn't take over. How would sensei take Kurama?

He opened the front door with forced cheer. Iruka frowned a little as he held up the bags of ramen.

"Was I interrupting something?" Naruto felt a twinge of guilt at the man's apologetic look. Kami. He was going to hell. With Kurama.

"Er. No. I was just practicing a jutsu," he mumbled as he ushered Iruka in.

"Oh! That's great! What jutsu was it? Do you need help?"

"Ah, thanks sensei! C'mon. Let's eat in the courtyard today; the champagne roses are in full bloom."

When they arrived at the courtyard, Kurama was nowhere to be seen. Naruto gave an internal sigh of relief. He led them to a grassy patch in front of the roses, where the scent of the blooms wafted gently.

They set up their food as if they were on a picnic.

"Itadakimasu!" Naruto exclaimed as he dug in. Iruka shook his head with a smile before eating his own bowl.

Between slurps of his ramen, Naruto managed to ask, "So, sensei, what's up? You're usually not out this early on a weekday."

"Oh, well, today was the genin graduation day, so I'm on vacation for two weeks," Iruka said hesitantly. Naruto put his chopsticks down and smiled.

"Don't worry about it, sensei. I got over that a long time ago. And besides, I wouldn't be able to focus much on fuuinjutsu if I was in a genin team! Fuuinjutsu isn't much of a team sport," Naruto laughed.

"But you've been working on ninjutsu! And I saw what you did with your wind affinity and the leaves last week. Even if I don't approve of using chakra to rake leaves." Naruto ignored Iruka's pointed stare.

"Oh! And you said you were working on a jutsu before I knocked. What was it?" the chuunin asked curiously.

"Foxfire."

Iruka swung around with a kunai in his hand as Naruto choked on his noodles.

Kurama raised an eyebrow at the two of them, hands demurely slotted in his sleeves. If Naruto didn't know better, he would have thought that the man was a priest.

"Who are you?" Iruka growled as he hid Naruto behind him.

"He's- _cough cough _–"

"A mentor," Kurama finished for him.

"My name is Kaneshiro Kurama. It's a pleasure to meet you." The fox bowed, a pleasant smile plastered on his face.

"Oh! I'm Umino Iruka. It's nice to meet you Kaneshiro-san," Iruka blushed in embarassment. Behind him, Naruto cursed. _'Stupid fox.' _

"Pardon me, but Naruto's never spoken about you. How long have you been teaching him?" Iruka curiously asked. Naruto cursed again.

"Not very long, Umino-san. We met-"

"HE'S THE KYUUBI!" Naruto interrupted. Kurama's eye twitched at the outburst. Really. He'll probably have to start etiquette lessons with Naruto if this was how he dealt with sensitive issues.

"NARUTO! You're not-" Iruka started to say, but then glanced at Kurama. "Er… he's not in his right mind, haha. He must be coming down with a fever. I'll go…" the man was at a loss.

Kurama sighed. He did that a lot. Sometimes he wished that he was back asleep in the seal.

"Naruto is perfectly coherent. He lacks a single subtle bone in his body, but he's perfectly fine," at this, the red head rolled his eyes. "I am indeed the Kyuubi, although my real name _is _Kurama."

Iruka froze. He gave a calculating stare towards Kurama, evaluating his golden eyes and red hair, as if he could spot a pair of foxy ears or sense a hint of demonic chakra.

And then a pair of red, furry fox ears popped amidst the red hair.

Several things happened simultaneously.

Kurama smirked.

Naruto groaned.

Iruka threw every jutsu he knew at the demon.

The plants sprung to life, wrapping and pulling at Iruka, who was trapped within seconds. Naruto thanked Kami that the roses hadn't so much as twitched, which was a miracle because they'd liked Kurama better.

"Well, Naruto. If you'd let me do this _my _way, Iruka-sensei wouldn't be in this predicament." The fox had the guts to chuckle merrily.

Iruka cursed like a sailor behind a vine.

"I can't just LIE to sensei! And YOU! What did I tell you about that illusion?!" Naruto fumed. He frantically started petting at the roots and vines, coaxing them to let the brunette go. They loosened, but didn't full release the man.

"Please. You're the one who told me to let him down gently. And then you had the gall to just blurt out the truth." Kurama knelt towards a root and hummed it a lullaby. It unwound itself, briefly caressed the fox's cheek, and then dug itself back into the ground. Kurama smiled before covering the hole.

Naruto turned stubbornly away.

"Er, sensei. Let me explain."

"MMMFFFGHHGHGH!" He screamed through the vine.

"Ah…"

"Hanako…" Kurama warned. The vine shrank away, sadly trailing on the ground before returning to its place wrapped around a pillar.

"…you named it?" Naruto asked incredulously.

"…it's boring when you're out…" Kurama attempted to shrug, but it was more of an ashamed shuffle.

Naruto chuckled.

Iruka was NOT amused.

* * *

"So, you're trying to tell me that you made the Kyuubi, the nine-tailed beast because you were sorry for him?! Are you sure he hasn't been influencing you? THIS IS WHY WE DIDN'T WANT YOU TO SPEAK WITH IT!" Iruka tried valiantly to restrain his temper and anxiousness.

"I needed his chakra, Itachi said so! And this way, I have free reign over it, _and _he teaches me how to use it without poisoning myself!"

Iruka froze.

"Itachi told you what? When?"

Naruto stared straight into Iruka's eyes and said, "He told me the night of the Uchiha Massacre. He came to my window before he left."

"Did he-"

"No. He didn't hurt me or anything. He just told me he was leaving Konoha and to learn to use the Kyuubi's chakra."

"…well… he was always fond of you. But are you sure that the Kyuubi, _Kurama, _isn't influencing you?"

Iruka gave a sharp look towards Kurama, who they ignored 'til now. The man casually sipped his tea.

"Yes. The only way for me to return to Naruto's body and control my chakra is if I dispel this clone. Which I'm not willing to do… yet. And I see no reason why I shouldn't teach Naruto how to use it; he's hardly the only jinchuuriki." Another infuriating calm sip of tea.

"And you can't leave this compound?" Iruka pressed.

"Well, we haven't tried, have we?" Kurama smirked nastily, "But, we're almost positive that if I were to go outside the compound, this body would weaken. It wouldn't "die" because it consumes natural chakra, which is everywhere, but if I didn't consume enough of it in time, it would simply dissolve. Wind chakra never is very stable."

"See, sensei? It's all under control!" Naruto exclaimed, large puppy-dog eyes prepped and ready to fire.

Iruka didn't look convinced, at least, not until he made Naruto explain the seals in detail.

"Ah~ I think it would be best to explain the seals to the Hokage at the same thing," Kurama suggested genteelly. Iruka looked as if he wanted to protest on principle, but stopped when he realized that it was a good idea.

"That's right, Naruto. We have to tell the Hokage." Iruka stood and dragged the boy towards the front door.

The plants and Kurama waved goodbye.

Some days, Naruto wished that he didn't want to be Hokage. This was one of them.

* * *

The old man took it as well as a cat to cold baths.

* * *

Naruto might have burst an eardrum when the Hokage screamed himself hoarse in anger. He swore that he heard Kurama laugh inside his head.

* * *

The Hokage marched over to the Namikaze compound, summoning contract ready just in case the fox became violent. They didn't find him in the front rooms or the courtyard. When Iruka and Sarutobi started to panic, Naruto pointed out that Kurama had access to the inner rooms.

They found him. In the bathtub. Completely at ease with them being in the bathroom with him.

"Hello. Oh, you look older than I remember, Professor," Kurama smiled.

Enma in staff form pierced through bathtub, tile, and concrete. It, unfortunately, did not pierce any foxy bits.

* * *

"I swear that it's not poisoned. Kyuu-chan would never poison food that he made himself," Naruto said matter-of-factly. His two guests gave cautious pokes at the spaghetti squash on their plates.

Dinner was a tense affair. Naruto tried in vain to strike up light conversation. He started off with, "Oh! Kurama's an awesome cook! This one time he made…" and "The sugar camellias aren't doing so well because of the humidity…" but the responses were always curt. While he was debating on the next topic, Kurama managed to slide in his own topic.

"…so, it looks like you rebuilt Sector C after one of my tails knocked it down," Kurama stated off-handedly.

_'Oh Kami. Why doesn't he shut up? Kyuu… shut up, please…' _Naruto pleaded to every deity he could think of.

Sarutobi gritted his teeth.

"…it's been rebuilt better. But it's a relief to see that you've shrunk a lot." The Hokage stabbed at his squash viciously.

"Yes, well, I wouldn't trade it for anything," the fox replied simply.

Iruka looked up from his plate.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked. Kurama faced him.

"I usually cannot come to this world without being summoned. It's different not having a master to follow orders from."

"Then why did you attack Konoha?" Iruka demanded.

"You should probably ask Uchiha Madara why he summoned me, then," was the breezy reply. The other two men sat frozen in shock.

"What are you talking about?! Madara is _dead_!" Iruka hissed. The Hokage held his tongue, but it was clear that he had things he wanted to ask as well.

"You don't have to believe me. But rest assured that when I meet that man again, because I _will _meet him again, I'll make sure that not even his bone dust is left." If Kurama had ears, they would've been flat against his head.

"Are you sure that-" the Hokage began.

"_No, I just tend to ignore people who try to enslave me,_" Kurama snapped sarcastically.

Naruto watched the argument with wide eyes.

"Um… who's Madara?" the blond asked.

Kurama, who was about to retaliate against something that the Hokage had said, snapped his mouth shut.

"We will discuss this later," he growled to Sarutobi, who gave a curt nod in response.

Naruto knew better than to whine about being in the dark. It was like 'the Kyuubi conspiracy' all over again, except that this time Kyuubi really was involved. He'd just call this one 'the Kurama conspiracy.'

"…so… Kurama's current body can't leave the compound, so…"

"_Current body?_"

"Er…"

Maybe Naruto would take Kurama up on his offer of teaching the boy how to speak in public without stabbing himself in the foot.

"It's more out of laziness than inability. I see no reason for me to leave the compound in the foreseeable future, unless _your villagers do something to Naruto_." Kurama threatened. "Though you can be assured that if I do leave the compound, I will probably venture to other villages. If I wreak havoc, it'll be there, not here."

Iruka and the Hokage didn't look very reassured, but both nodded their heads anyways.

* * *

"Practice fuuinjutsu and your jutsus. I'll be in the frontal rooms with the Hokage if you need me." Kurama ruffled Naruto's blond hair as he spoke.

A week passed since the disaster dinner and 'the Kurama conspiracy.' Naruto and Kurama spent the week after theorizing on how weak Kurama's body would be out of the compound, and if there was any way to strengthen it. Would they have to paint seals on the body or would they have to alter the original seals and remake the whole body again?

If only the matter was as simple as Kurama wandering around outside for a while and noting the changes to the body. Sure, it'll be fine if the body only lost some power, but there was also the chance that some of the winds would escape, leaving a weakened, smaller, possibly translucent Kurama. Worst case scenario? The seals on the body's arms dissolve and all of the contained winds are let go. Considering how the sealing nearly drained both Naruto's and what Naruto could access of the Kurama's chakra, there were many, possibly vicious, winds. If released, tornados could rip apart their section of Konoha.

Naruto glanced down at the modified lightning seal in front of him. Originally, it was meant to zap its surroundings if requirements weren't meant. Usually, it would be blood because the seal was used most often to protect personal property. Naruto's version, however, was modified to respond to chakra. This made it highly unstable, but according to Uzumaki Mito's scrolls, he could integrate elemental seals with a special stability seal. He also added a self-sustaining seal that would draw chakra from nature instead of from the sealer. It wasn't like his garden was lacking in any.

Naruto snapped his fingers.

Tiny tornados danced atop his seal, depositing chakra onto his lines. After chakra training with Kurama, Naruto had no need for actual jutsus when it came to wind; he only needed to think, and wind responded. Consequently, it made learning other jutsus extremely hard.

When the tornados were all absorbed into the seal, Naruto glanced at it again to make sure he hadn't made a mistake. Then he sank the scroll into the lake in front of him. He watched as that lake and the pond around it glowed briefly.

He smiled. If any chakra other than his, the Hokage's, or Iruka's touched any of the courtyard water, tornados would spring up and incapacitate the intruder. The genius thing was that the tornados wouldn't harm anything with the courtyard's natural chakra, since that was its chakra source, so when the tornado it, it would be harmless to anything that had that natural chakra in it.

Naruto and Kurama would always be safe. The plants would be safe. The fish would be safe. Iruka and Hokage-jiji, because they ate at the compound at least once a week, would be safe since they were ingesting the chakra and being exposed to it.

And since he watered the front yard flowers with the same water…

_'Well_,' Naruto thought smugly to himself, '_this is the first time that I _wished _that someone would attack me.' _

Satisfied with his accomplishment, Naruto began practicing Kurama's demonic jutsus.

"Demonic Illusion: Destruction," he muttered. His chakra spread out from his body like soundwaves, and once they came into contact with a solid object, the chakra wrapped around it. His fingers tingled as the illusion touched the walls of the compound.

He opened his eyes.

Around him, decayed trees and plants gave birth to maggots and worms. The soil was so dry that it cracked and crumbled with every step that he took. Gone were the bright colors of his flowers. In their place were drab tones of dark brown and black.

This was the most recent jutsu that Kurama taught him. Naruto had been afraid that he wouldn't have been able to do it because it was a genjutsu and he didn't have a fine-tuned enough chakra control for that, but Kurama allayed his fears. Demonic Illusions were chakra sucking death traps.

This one was his favorite because it convinced the prey that there was nobody around for miles and that this was already a wasteland. If anyone touched a parasite or maggot, the thing would wiggle just as if it were real because a part of the illusion was fuelled by the prey's own imagination. The only downside was that if Naruto was too far away from the point where he cast it, the entire illusion would dissolve since it needed a constant, abet small, supply of chakra.

Kurama shrugged at this limitation when Naruto brought it up. He said that in his prime, aka when he was not stuck in Naruto's body, he could be half across a country and the illusion could still hold. Then Naruto replied that Kurama could _cross _that distance with three steps.

Kurama scowled and told him to practice harder.

As of now, Naruto didn't have any issues with the jutsu. He could keep it up for days without feeling so much as a dent in his chakra capacity, but he was still manipulating the smells. The area smelled like smoke, but little else. He experimented with making the air heavy with humidity, but that atmosphere didn't feel natural with the scenery. Sometimes the soil was damp, sometimes the tree bark didn't break off like it would in reality…

'_Well, since I'm not allowed to pull pranks, I need to utilize my creativity somewhere else,' _Naruto thought sarcastically.

He drew a seal in the ashy earth and smiled when the area around him became a swamp. Maybe he could put a sea serpent in the swamp; that'd be interesting.

* * *

"Hokage-sama. I would like to request a C-ranked mission for Team 7."

Sarutobi looked up at Kakashi, masking his disbelief. The jounin's theory was that a C-ranked mission would motivate his team to work harder. Preposterous. If Kakashi's genin refused to do D-ranks, then they could well _quit_, in Sarutobi's opinion. But the Council was once again meddling in his affairs.

Something needed to be done about that.

"You have a mission to Wave, escorting and protecting a bridge builder named Tazuna."

* * *

Team 7 trudged to the gates of Konoha, carrying the corpse of their third member, Hayasaki Akio. The boy's honey-colored hair peeked from beneath the white cloth wrapped around his body, and Kamizuki Izumo could see trails of blood stained to his hair. He didn't doubt that if he pulled the covering lower, he would see a slashed throat and a thin stretch skin that prevented complete decapitation. He nudged his partner, Hagane Kotetsu, awake.

As the chuunin in charge of manning the fates, they were required to inspect all incoming persons, but one look at Hatake Kakashi's expression convinced them that they could make an exception. Losing your first genin was always the hardest, and Kakashi was no different. His gravity-defying hair was streaked with mud and blood; his hands were raw; the cut on his knee was barely scabbed over, and the bags underneath his eyes were as dark as an Uchiha's hair. This wasn't the first death that the Copy-Cat nin had seen, it wasn't even his youngest death, but losing a genin fresh from the Academy felt different from losing a battle-weary comrade who had already come to terms with the dangers of the job.

Izumo and Kotetsu both nodded to their senpai, eyes averted from the corpse. Kakashi's uncovered eye flicked towards them before he grimly nodded back. He gently herded the rest of his genin towards the Hokage Tower so that they could report in their mission. The Uchiha scowled at his sensei's actions, but didn't vocally protest. The pink-haired female nodded, her eyes flickering back to the corpse in her sensei's arms before walking ahead of him.

At the Academy, being a ninja seemed like a game, where studying tactics and learning the rules were easy ways to level up; she'd known, but not realized that death was an option until she saw arterial blood spurting from Akio's body, his body hanging in the arm moments after Zabuza's sword finished its swing, and then as it collapsed, dragged down by indifferent gravity. She hadn't realized that ninja missions weren't like the survival retreats at the Academy, where she could trust the other students to play by the rules and where she trusted her instructors to keep her safe. In the real world, you couldn't guarantee anything. She didn't regret learning this lesson; she only regretted that her teammate died for it.

She felt the curious glances of the civilians as they made their way to the Tower. She wished that they could run atop the roofs to avoid the stares, but they had travelled nearly nonstop since they left Wave. Her body and her mind felt exhausted. Her feet dragged even as she pulled them up. Occasionally she snuck looks at Sasuke, but her crush seemed untouched by the events in Wave; he didn't see Akio die, not like she did. When Sasuke reminisced about this mission, he would remember awakening his coveted Sharingan; she would remember the cold seeping into her skin from Akio's cold body, the swing of a blade, and a spray of blood. She'd remember this mission as the first time she considered quitting being a kunoichi.

She'd remember Akio's body flashed in her memories, his clothes fluttering as he ran in front of her. She'd been protecting Tazuna then, poised and nervous. She'd been watching Sasuke's fight so intently, fearing for her crush's life so emphatically, that she hadn't realized that Zabuza moved away from Kakashi until he was in front of her. Akio noticed. He flung his skinny body against that giant sword, and he died for her inattention. She was a moment too slow, a lot too weak, and Akio, the boy who crushed on _her _since their Academy days was _killed _in front of her. He didn't even have last words to say. A sliced windpipe prevented a lot of things.

Kakashi-sensei retaliated, his anger fueling his adrenaline. Zabuza was dead within minutes, but by the time Kakashi enacted his revenge he was suffering from chakra exhaustion, and Gato was already waiting for them with fresh muscle. The only thing to be thankful for was that Haku stopped his fight with Sasuke, stunned by the death of his mentor and (less so) by Gato's treachery.

When Gato's men charged, Sakura was thankful for Haku's anger because the boy destroyed those thugs, and the ones that he didn't, Kakashi decapitated, and the ones that survived that, the makeshift civilian army rounded up. But there she was, guarding Tazuna with trembling legs while the corpse of her dead teammate lay in front of her. She couldn't bear to look at it.

After it was all over and Kakashi wrapped up the body, her sensei placed a hand on her shoulder and told her that it wasn't her fault that Akio died. Like it wasn't her fault that she was weak and unprepared. He told her that as their sensei, the blame lay with him, as if Tazuna's lie didn't factor in. As if Kakashi was expected to be able to fight a missing-nin and watch over his students at the same time.

"Hokage-sama will see you now."

The voice jolted her awake. The receptionist nodded them in, but Sakura couldn't see more than her two feet. She felt Kakashi nudge her back, and she moved forward, but it was mechanical. She couldn't feel the air in her lungs or the ground underneath her feet. She could feel her skin paling and the blood drained from it; if they weren't already walking into the Hokage's office, she would have begged her sensei to let her go; her stomach lurched.

"Team 7," Hokage-sama said. She raised her head, but she purposely kept her eyes unfocused so that she couldn't see his expression.

"Hokage-sama. Team 7, reporting in," Kakashi replied. He placed the corpse by his feet; his summon dogs alerted the Hokage earlier about Akio's state and a shinobi from the crematorium stood by the wall.

"Report."

* * *

"Kakashi," Sarutobi sighed when the genin were dismissed. He let silence hang in-between them for several minutes, puffing smoke into the room as he debated his options. Hayasaki-kun was an orphan, so there were no parents to inform of his death, and as such he would be immediately cremated after a small viewing. His death, however, was still a great loss to the village and would not be ignored as easily as 'out of sight, out of mind.'

"As I understand it, there wasn't much your team could do under the circumstances. What I'm afraid of, however, is that the apprentice, Haku was it?, will seek revenge against you," he said. Kakashi's back was as straight as his face was blank.

"I do not think that he would be foolish enough to come after me after his mentor failed to kill me. He fled as soon as Gato was disposed of, and he took his mentor's body with him. If he was intent on revenge, he could have attempted to kill me while I was weak from chakra exhaustion," Kakashi stated. Sarutobi could see the logic in that. He only feared that a boy who just lost his mentor wouldn't be thinking rationally.

"I see. Team 7 will be on leave for the next week while the Council and I will attempt to find another genin to take Hayasaki-kun's place. Until then, Team 7 is barred from missions. Dismissed." The week off would give the team time to reflect on the Wave mission.

"Yes sir." And then the Jounin was gone in a swirl of leaves. Sarutobi sighed again; there would be another name on the memorial stone by tomorrow morning.

Although he had said that he would attempt to find another genin, Sarutobi knew that there weren't any of the right caliber available in the Academy. As soon as Uchiha Sasuke graduated from the Academy, the Council had decided that Team 7 would take Konoha's upcoming Chuunin Exams. They wanted to give the last Uchiha a home-field advantage and didn't want to risk his capture or death if he went to another village's exam.

Being so soon after graduation meant that the only students that were in the Academy were either remedial genin who didn't pass their sensei's test or students who were months away from graduating; both were completely inexperienced. Additionally, none of the remedial genin had profiles that would work with Team 7, and none of the current students stood out as extremely capable. The Chuunin exams were months away, but good teamwork took longer than that to cultivate, and if Kakashi focused wholly on the team for the next few months just so that they could pass those portions of the Exams, then the genin would be lacking in individuals skills. Or Kakashi would only focus on Sasuke's newly awakened Sharingan, something that only the Jounin could do.

No, whomever Sarutobi chose to be the third member of Team 7 would have to be Chuunin level without the rank and able to train Sakura while Kakashi focused on Sasuke's Sharingan. Currently, there was only one possible person whom he could think of, but the Council would never agree. And if they did reluctantly agree, Naruto-kun wouldn't.

'_At least, without some conditions._' Sarutobi smiled at that thought.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **Anything you recognize is not mine.

* * *

-**Review Replies**-

**Namikaze (Guest):** He's not stupid. He just doesn't care about looking up possible relations; he cares about being a good shinobi. He thinks that he's in the compound because of its library; there's no reason for him to believe that it was his father's.

**Dylan101: **Thanks! I've fixed that! I'm so sorry about the error! :D

**Scene breaks: **Sorry! I have breaks in my document, but they must have not carried over! The first chapter is fixed now!

**A/N: **Does anyone know how I can have the scene breaks in my file transfer over to the Doc Manager? Thanks. :D

**Von Kreuz: **Since he hasn't taken the exam and since the Council won't allow it, he's not a shinobi at all. Not yet. ;) He has the _potential _to be higher than a genin, but… well… you'll see…

**StrageKing**: No, I don't plan on making Naruto teach anyone. He's merely the catalyst so that the other genin can be strong in their own right.

**A/N: **I'm sorry that this chapter is a little shorter than I wanted. I ran out of things I wanted to put in to foreshadow stuff, and felt that it was too soon to introduce Team 7 since I want that to have a whole chapter to itself. Anyways, thank you for the reviews. I had a heart attack every time one popped up in my email because truthfully, I'm paralyzingly afraid of flames, but thank you for all the ones with kind words! :D

And why is messing with my formatting?! WHY? T_T

* * *

**Chapter 2**

Shino liked being on Team 8. He was well suited for a tracking team, as were his two teammates. Inuzuka Kiba and Akamaru could smell hidden enemy nin from a decent distance away if the wind was with them, and Hyuuga Hinata's Byakugan eyes were helpful in any recon situation. But even though their skills were quintessential for tracking, their personalities weren't.

Hinata was quiet, but not in the same way that Shino was. She rarely raised her voice, and she rarely spoke without a stutter; it was hard to be swayed by her, even if she was right. But confidence could be cultivated, and when Hinata had it, she would be upstoppable. That is, unless she never got over her 'niceness,' which caused her to leave killing and skinning animals to the other two in her group. It wasn't that she couldn't kill, more like she wasted time praying and thanking the animals for the meal; Shino wondered if this habit transferred over to human kills.

Kiba was rambunctious; he shouted every statement and filled himself up with confidence that he couldn't back up… yet. Shino had no doubts that his teammate could rise in the shinobi ranks, as long as the boy was focused. But now, all his howling only served to make Shino's ears ring and for his bugs to buzz angrily. He and Kiba came to blows once, when Shino asked him to pipe down but in more polite terms, and Kiba bellowed.

Kurenai broke off the fight and told them to talk it out. Shino said that Kiba was disturbing his bugs. Kiba called his bugs 'babies.'

They didn't cooperate during missions for a week because of that little spat. It was the straw that broke the camel's back. But it only lasted a week because Kurenai was fed up and knocked some sense into them. Painfully. With fists, jutsus, _and_ kunai.

Shino didn't mind the beat down; it was the fastest solution. They'd been useless soloists.

During that week, Kiba and he tried to track Tora the daimyo's wife's cat separately. They tracked her without a problem, but couldn't capture her effectively. They wasted hours chasing the stupid animal. Kiba and Akamaru would pounce on it, and it would slip from their grip. Shino sent his bugs after it, and it ran like the devil possessed. Hinata tried to help, but they were too focused on their competition.

They apologized to her afterwards, but Shino thought that she should have been the one to knock some sense into them instead of Kurenai-sensei.

So, although they threw a tantrum for a week, they realized how vital each were to tracking. Kurenai couldn't have been more proud of them for that, even if she did lecture them for hours.

Which led to now. Kurenai-sensei gave them the next two days off to train with their clans since she had a mission. They'd met up at Team 8's training ground for her to give her orders, and then they dispersed.

"Woot! Wait 'til Kurenai-sensei comes back! Akamaru and I will be back twice as strong!" Kiba cheered. Shino rolled his eyes, but Hinata smiled.

"Ano… Kiba-kun. I wish you guys luck…" she said hesitantly.

"Thanks, Hinata-chan! I'll see you guys in two days!" Kiba waved as he and Akamaru left the grounds.

The remaining two members nodded to each other before leaving as well.

Unlike Kiba, Shino wasn't training for new jutsu. Instead, he wanted to focus on strengthening and expanding his colony, which was currently too small to do any long-range recon or fighting; the earlier he started, the more prepared he'd be for the Chuunin Exams.

His father, Aburame Shibi, told him that an endeavor like that took years since an overload of chakra poisoned the kikaichu. His father told him to just train, and the colony would grow with him, as it did for every Aburame. But Shino realized that his kikaichu could be fed more; they had so much more room to grow.

'_Maybe I need to expand my chakra reserves first,'_ he thought to himself. He wasn't close to poisoning them with his current reserves, but he also wasn't close to feeding them their maximum allowance.

_Bzzt… _

Shino left the training grounds and entered the village. He felt one of his younger kikaichu flit around him, traveling slightly further than the rest of the colony. Curious, Shino stopped walking, but the kikaichu stayed with him, although it maintained its distance. He began walking again.

_Bzzt…_

It flew in a slow loop.

Shino took a step onto the dirt road into the center of the village. The kikaichu nestled closer to him. By the time he bought some fruit for a snack at a nearby vendor, it was mingling with the colony.

"Curious…" he mumbled behind his collar.

Backtracking, he headed towards the training areas again, and with each step, the young kikaichu pulled away. He experimented, taking several steps in one direction and then several in another. He followed the bug's steadily more drunken movement. He followed it for several minutes, weaving through civilians going through their daily business. They avoided him; his colony began to travel in front of him instead of with him.

They were a porous cloud that surrounded him, swaying as they led him towards an unknown destination. He no longer led them.

Sometimes Shino flared his chakra so that they would come back to him, narrowly avoiding a bustling civilian with a cart who didn't notice the wide berth everyone else gave the young ninja, but the colony still drifted away. He wondered if they would continue moving forwards even if he stood still in the middle of the street.

Twenty minutes after he began following the stray kikaichu, he began to feel irritated. He was wasting precious time! As time went on, he found himself running to keep up with his colony, which kept speeding up as they got closer to wherever.

They were in front of a small clan house. Very ordinary. The name 'Namikaze' was emblazoned on the top of the arch, but Shino never heard of it; perhaps it was a civilian clan. He heard crashes and yells from inside.

"Shit! I'm sorry, okay? I was just trying to help!"

"How was that helping?! YOU TOOK DOWN THE SEALS!"

"JUST SOME OF THEM! I was trying to improve them!"

"FIX THEM!" roared the deeper voice.

"I WOULD HAVE FIXED THEM IF YOU DIDN'T LECTURE ME FOR SO LONG!"

"OF ALL THE-" a crash "-STUPID KIT-" _crash _"-I SHOULD LET KAMI-SAMA BEAT YOU!"

"Okay!" a blond boy yelled backwards as he stumbled out of the door. Dressed in a black t-shirt and orange pants, with a brush clutched in one hand, Shino figured he stumbled across an eccentric painter. The boy looked up.

"Shit," he said as he stared at Shino.

Shino gave him an impassive stare behind his sunglasses.

"Er… hey. Um, did you need something?" the boy asked.

"My colony led me here. I do not know why. I was wondering if you could shed some light on the matter," Shino responded.

"Colony?"

"Yes. My name is Aburame Shino, and-"

"Naruto!" A red-haired man dressed like a Shinto priest burst through the door. He stared at Shino for a second before glaring at the blond boy. Then he swatted the back of the blond's head with a closed fan.

"Ow! Kurama! What the hell was that for?!" the younger whined.

"Language! What would your precious sensei think if he heard you?" the man smirked. He came down the steps and stood next to the boy.

"Ah, the Aburame heir. My name is Kaneshiro Kurama. It's a pleasure to meet you. May I inquire about your business here?" The man stepped in front of the boy, shielding him from Shino's view.

"My kikaichu led me here. I do not know why."

"What are kikaichu? He said he had a 'colony.' Ne…" the boy tugged on Kaneshiro-shisho's sleeve.

The man's eyebrow ticked.

"Kit. Didn't I instruct you to learn about the major clans in Konoha and their heirs?"

"…oh… that. Well, I was a little busy with creating the new security seals, you see," the boy smiled up at the red-head unrepentantly.

"In simple terms, he has a colony of special bugs that he uses."

The blond peered from around the man, and stared at Shino in interest.

"Cool! Hi! My name's Uzumaki Naruto!"

The man swatted the boy's head again.

"Ow! Kurama!" The man gave the boy a glare before turning a back towards to Shino.

"I apologize, Aburame-kun. We were doing repairs on the compound's security seals-"

"-_you _weren't doing anything," the boy muttered.

"-and it seems that your kikaichu caught wind of our chakra. They probably came to investigate it since they are not used to it; our seals usually prevent any of it from leaking. I assure you that it will not be a problem again." Kaneshiro-shisho gave a polite bow at the end.

The kikaichu pressed themselves closer to the wall. It was kind of shameful to watch.

"_Come back," _he ordered, but they stayed where they were.

'_So… full…' _they murmured back to him. Alarmed, he flared his chakra again. They snapped back to him, not because of his command, but because a thick root shot over the fence and headed towards him.

"Yuuka!" the two males in the compound dashed forward.

_A moving vine? _

Shino dodged, but the vine curled in midair and went after him again.

_Is this Mokuton?_

The red-haired man disappeared behind the wall, probably to where the vine originated from, but the blond was running towards him.

Possible scenarios flashed through his mind.

If this was Mokuton, he could drain the chakra in the vine to stop it from moving…

…no, there was too much chakra in it. If he didn't know better, it seemed to be _made _from chakra.

But this didn't seem like a planned attack, so what-

"Chakra Containment Seal!" the boy channeled chakra into the brush in his hand, jumped on top of the vine, and painted what must have been a seal. The vine slumped onto the wall.

The boy sighed and turned to Shino.

"Um, sorry about that. She doesn't like other people's chakra very much. Would you like to come in for tea?" he asked.

Shino stared at him.

"…that's what I'm supposed to do in these situations right? Apologize and invite you for tea?" he shifted from foot to foot nervously.

"…I do not believe there has been a precedent to this, but I accept your offer." Answers would be nice.

"Oi! Kurama! I sealed her chakra. And invited Shino-kun to tea!" the boy turned towards Shino, "Let's go!"

"Should we not clean this up, Uzumaki-kun?" Shino inclined his head towards the root.

"Oh! Just call me Naruto! And give me a minute," he responded before slipping his hands underneath the plant. Shino wanted to tell the boy, _Naruto_, that he could call him Shino then, _except that the boy already did_. He couldn't help but just feel exasperated, though. It seemed like this was just the boy's nature; he was rather similar to Kiba.

Naruto heaved the vine back over the wall.

"Done~" he sang before dragging Shino into the house. The kikaichu stayed on Shino's arms and poked Naruto's hand every other second, making the boy giggle that it tickled.

Past the outer walls, Shino could see the jungle within. Thick, large plants of every size and color sprang up, almost surreal in their size. Plots of vegetables were to his right, filled with blooming food. He could see the vine that attacked him; Kaneshiro-shisho knelt by its base, speaking to it softly as he slowly rubbed away the seal. The vine stirred drowsily, and then it wrapped itself around the man.

"Thank you, Yuuka, for protecting Naruto and I." The man smiled before motioning for the vine to let go. It returned to its place by the way, a silent sentinel.

The man brushed off the dirt from his robes and headed towards them.

"How long do you think it'll take for you to fix the seals?" he asked.

"Er… An hour? It shouldn't take more than fifteen minutes to replace the seals, especially since I know what my mistake was on the Western wall, but I invited Shino here to tea…"

The man pinched the bridge of his nose and gave an exasperated sigh.

"The seals need to be fixed as soon as possible. They were only down for half an hour, and they managed to attract ninja. Don't worry. We can have tea afterwards."

"Okay, you're the one with etiquette skills." The boy shrugged headed towards the wall by the vegetables.

"The fact that he can say such a thing so flippantly…" the man gave a fond sigh. Then he smiled politely at Shino before saying, "Come, Aburame-kun. Let's sit on the grass by Yuuka. She will not hurt you. I need to supervise Naruto in case something unexpected happens again. I'll answer your questions there." He led them towards the vine.

"The natural chakra here is very strong, Kaneshiro-shisho. Is one of you a Mokuton user?" Shino asked once they settled down.

Kaneshiro gave a foxy bark. A curious laugh.

"No. Naruto feeds the plants his chakra just as you feed your kikaichu. Their responses are similar, are they not? And you may call me Kurama. I am no longer a priest."

_'Someone like me?'_ Shino thought. Naruto wasn't a Mokuton user; he didn't animate or control plants. He fed and took care of them like Shino did with his bugs; they were kindred.

They sat in silence. Kurama watched Naruto erased the old seals and created new ones. Merely updating them wouldn't give the compound the same amount of protection.

Shino observed his bugs, which kept spreading away from him. He wanted to call them back again, but he was afraid of what the vine would do since it was so close to it. His kikaichu landed on leaves and trunks, munching on the chakra that rippled on the surface. He was slightly worried about this. He let them eat natural chakra sometimes, like earlier when they devoured his apple core, but they never ate it in such quantities. Would it affect their bond with him?

Kurama noticed his gazed and responded.

"I don't think you need to worry. Natural chakra doesn't interfere with human chakra; these plants transformed Naruto's chakra into their own. They won't be feeding off of any of his unless they nibble on the roots."

"Thank you for your assurance, Kurama-san. May I ask how you are so knowledgeable to how the Aburame clan's kikaichu function?" The dark-haired boy pierced the man with a stare. The information wasn't necessarily a secret, but it wasn't commonly known; even ninjas had to dig a little to find this information.

"Logic, Shino-kun. Is there any other method that your clan could employ to gain the same control over their kikaichu?"

There wasn't. At least, none that Shino had ever heard of.

Naruto sat next to them after finishing two seals.

"Did you figure out what was wrong with your bugs, Shino?" the blond asked.

Kurama rose and went to fetch them tea.

"Yes, Naruto-kun. I believe that they were attracted to the amount of chakra here," Shino responded.

"Yeah," Naruto scratched his head, "Probably the Chakra Reflection Seals." He sat down with a 'thump.'

"Chakra Reflection Seals?" He'd never heard of those before, but he wasn't very interested in fuuinjutsu.

"Yeah! They're my favorite creation!" Creation? This boy _made _them? "They reflect the chakra between two of them, so that the chakra is multiplied. Some chakra is lost so that it can power the seals, but its output _way _exceeds its input. I have two pairs in here, so the chakra is reflected until the air is maximally saturated. My plants really like it; it seems that your bugs do too," Naruto explained excitedly. He bounced with pride. Shino hid his own tilt of the lips behind his collar.

"It seems that they do. You also have many rare species of plants here; my kikaichu must enjoy the variation in nectar," he responded.

"Oh! Do they eat like normal bugs? I figured that they would, but you never know with ninja animals. Hold on." Naruto crossed to the other side of the yard and stood in front of a peach tree. He plucked a few before returning.

"These are really sweet! And they're full of chakra! Would your bugs like some?" Naruto asked.

Shino blinked.

"Do all of your plants have chakra in them?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah. It keeps them healthy. And I recover from chakra exhaustion faster if I eat food saturated with this chakra." He shrugged.

Shino's eyebrows raised.

"My kikaichu would be honored, Naruto-kun." Shino motioned several that were close to him towards the fruit. These crept closer before finally taking a bite.

_'…good…master… full…' _they murmured to him as Naruto urged them to eat more. Shino never heard them speak this much or say that they were full.

'_Could Naruto's fruit be the solution to my problem?'_

"Naruto-kun. May I have one?"

"Sure!" A peach was thrust into his face. He took it gingerly and took a bite.

It was sweet: not sickingly sweet, but on the cusp. It was crunchy and cool from where it was underneath the tree's leaves. It took several bites (nearly the whole peach), before he felt it, a subtle rush of his chakra replenishing itself. He didn't use much of it today because Team 8 didn't have practice, but whatever he used was refilling itself.

The kikaichu who ate from the peach returned to him, full. He could feel a stronger bond; more power flowed through them.

It seemed that eating the fruit had better results than just siphoning off the chakra on top of the plants. Too bad Naruto-kun and Kurama-san probably wouldn't appreciate half eaten plants everywhere if he allowed his kikaichu to actually eat.

"Interesting fruit we have here, yes?" Kurama returned with a tray of tea and peach buns.

"Yes," he replied. "I was wondering if I could ask a favor."

Kurama kneeled on the grass and sipped some tea.

"Sure! It's the least we can do to make up for Yuuka accidentally attacking you!" Naruto smiled as he reached for a peach bun. Shino saw Kurama's eyebrow twitch.

Shino said nothing and turned towards Kurama. Being the adult, he would be the one to make the decision.

"If the favor is what I think it is, then I have no issue with giving it to you. Although I feel that we do not own you anything, since you were the one who entered our territory," Kurama gave him stare as Naruto sputtered.

"I understand," Shino replied.

"But, depending on your reasons, I have two options for you. If I like your reasons for wanting our fruit, because I am sure that is what you want, then you have my permission to enter the front gardens; if not, I will send you home with a basket of peaches and a promise to not return."

"Thank you, Kurama-san." Shino bowed his head.

"You can't-!"

"Naruto, finish the rest of the security seals," Kurama ordered. The boy glared, but rose and left to finish his earlier task.

"Be nice," he warned the red-head. Kurama gave him a fake smile.

Shino began.

"My sensei gave us two days to improve our clan techniques. I feel that in that short amount of time, it would be more beneficial for me to strengthen and expand my colony. The colony size is proportional to my chakra reserves, and their strength is proportional to the amount of chakra they eat, whether from me or from enemies. Your fruit would solve both of my problems, which would also allow me to move forward in my jutsus."

"And what will you tell your family and teammates about your improvement? Chakra reserves do not naturally expand that quickly," Kurama asked.

"I will tell them nothing if you do not feel that it is proper."

"I don't. The last thing we want is for ninja to come pounding on our doors for some of our fruit," the red-head stated.

"Then I will tell them only that it is my new training," Shino replied.

Kurama gave him a look, not a contemplative one, but a critical one. It seemed as if the man cared more for Shino's soul than his reasons.

"What do you think of Naruto?" the man asked.

"My first impression is that he is very similar to my teammate Kiba."

Kurama's lips quirked.

"Then you have my sympathy." At his words, Shino hid a smile behind his collar.

"So you bear no ill will against my charge?"

What a curious question, especially since Shino just met the boy.

"No," he replied honestly. _Should he bear ill will against the blond?_

Kurama hummed before nodding his head.

"Nothing is done for free. This is no favor. Rather, a trade."

"The Aburame clan has-"

"You are a genin, yes?"

"…yes. From Team 8."

"Then, if you agree to our offer, we ask that you help tend to the garden, especially since your kikaichu will be benefitting from it, and that you spar with Naruto here. He is not a genin, but he has trained. It'll be a good experience for him to fight someone other than me."

That sounded reasonable. And sparring with the blond would be interesting, especially if he fought with seals like he did earlier.

"I agree. How often should I come?" he asked.

"As often as you'd like. There will be no assigned days; I understand that you are a shinobi and will have missions. But I do ask that whenever you come over to let your kikaichu feed that you aid in tending to the garden as well. I will always be here, but I may be occupied; I will rely on your honor that you will uphold your end without me breathing down your neck."

"I accept your generous offer," Shino replied. Kurama smiled and pushed the plate with the peach buns closer to the boy.

"Good. We will integrate your chakra into the outer seals when Naruto returns." The man resumed sipping his tea.

Shino ate the peach bun in silence (it was delicious!), but still felt suspicious of the duo.

"Neither of you have the last name 'Namikaze,' Kurama-san," he said when he was finished. Kurama gave him a toothy grin.

"No, we don't. But do not worry, Shino-kun; we have the Hokage's permission to be here."

* * *

Shino returned home with a basket full of peaches and oranges. His kikaichu sat on him lazily, utterly sated. It was late afternoon; he had time to train until their extra chakra was depleted.

He still thought that the duo was strange. Naruto didn't seem very suspicious, but the elder, Kurama, he was crafty, sly like a fox. That man had alternative motives.

He would ask his father if he knew anyone by the name Uzumaki Naruto, Kaneshiro Kurama, and Namikaze when the man returned.

* * *

"What did you do that for, Kyuu-chan?" Naruto asked. He draped himself over Kurama's shoulder while the man sat on the couch. The man looked up, reading glasses slipping down his nose.

"You need friends, Naruto, especially ones your age," he responded. Naruto snorted.

"I wasn't born yesterday, Kyuu."

"Compared to me, you are." Kurama resisted the urge to stick out his tongue.

"It's 'cause he's an heir, right?"

"Yes." Kurama gave him a foxy smile. "He could be useful in the future."

Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Right. But fighting him will be interesting," the boy's eyes sparkled, "Imagine! Fighting with bugs! How cool!"

Kurama chuckled before returning his attention to his book. If the boy fought like his father during the war, then it was certain to be interesting.

* * *

"The Council has been assembled today to discuss the third teammate of Team 7," Sarutobi's voice rang clear in the chamber. In front of him, the council men and women opened the files at their seats and shuffled through the papers.

The front half were Team 7's reports; first Kakashi's, followed by Sasuke and Sakura's. A condensed file of Momoichi Zabuza followed that. Then, a list of Team 7's missions.

After that, Uzumaki Naruto's file.

Sarutobi smirked inwardly when he heard the silence slowly descend upon the room as the occupants reached the same page. A cascade of sound as the councilmen reached the same page at different times.

"This is outrageous!"

"-not even a ninja!"

"-fox-"

"-should kill-"

"-demon-"

"-unfit-"

"-kill us all!"

Sarutobi stood in front of his Council and smiled. He had two options. He could silence them with his killing intent, intimidating them into remembering why _he _was the Hokage, or he could silence them with the seals on the seat. The first option would give him _immense _satisfaction, and they would tip-toe around him until they felt that he was calmer. The second would gave him the same satisfaction, but with the added benefit that it would showcase Naruto's fuuinjutsu proficiency. Or he could do both. That was an option too.

"SILENCE!" he bellowed. They stilled. Even if the seals hadn't activated, the chamber would have been silent anyways.

"I understand that many of you have your apprehensions-"

A civilian representative stood up, both hands pressed against the table as he leaned forward to yell, but so sound came from his mouth. It took him several seconds to realize that.

"_Yes_?" Sarutobi tilted his head towards the man, smiling as he waited for a response.

The man drew back, holding his throat as tried to scream a noise out. Around him, other members tested out their vocal cords.

Nara Shikaku experimentally tapped at his cords before turning towards the Hokage and raising a brow.

'Jutsu?' he signaled. The other shinobi watched them as the civilians were silently screaming themselves hoarse.

Sarutobi shook his head.

"Now that I have your attention," he continued. From the corner of his eyes he saw the civilians looking at him with panicked expressions, "I would like to explain why Naruto is the _only _choice if the Council wants Team 7 to enter the Chuunin Exams when Konoha hosts it."

"First, however, the Council must decide if Team 7's participation in the Chuunin Exams is still a priority." His eyes swept the room.

"If anyone believes that this is no longer a goal, please stand, seeing as that you cannot speak. If there is not an overwhelming majority one way or another, then we will discuss."

The civilians kept staring at each other, unsure. They wanted the last Uchiha to prove himself on home turf, but was it worth giving the demon shinobi status? Would he turn on them once he learned the shinobi arts?

But what if we make the Hokage choose someone else to be put on the team?

That thought ran rampant in their minds. It ran rampant in the minds of the shinobi too, but their faces were impassive. Sarutobi didn't need the Yamanaka's mind reading techniques to know the thoughts floating in the civilians' heads.

He glanced at his shinobi. He could see the rebellion in their eyes, but it only made him smile on the inside; if he made them all happy all the time, he'd be a pushover.

Shikaku caught his eye again. Sarutobi knew that the man held no ill will towards Naruto, but he did agree that it was the safest option to have the last Uchiha take the exams in Konoha. So he sat, not for the same reasons as a majority of the people in the room, but his stillness seemed to proclaim that he was unity with the majority; that was the consequence of the silence.

No one stood.

"Since the Council is in a unanimous agreement, we will proceed to the second issue; Naruto as the third genin."

Men and women stood again, some shinobi, some with logical reasons, many without. The Hokage spiked his killing intent.

They sat down.

"I will release the seal that silences you all, but I expect there to be a _civil _discussion," he said as he channeled chakra to his feet. The seal disengaged.

"Hokage-sama! You can't honestly believe that that _thing _should be made a shinobi!"

"It has no experience!"

"It should be ki-"

"Tachibana-san!" the Hokage yelled. The woman stopped.

"Did any of you do any research before you began this debate?" he sounded like a lecturing professor.

People blushed, like bright red lights as their embarrassment mingled with their rage.

Shikaku stared at him curiously, having no doubt understood the files just by skimming them. Beside him, his fellow jounin were curiously flipping through the pages.

"You can't be serious! How can a boy be notable in _fuuinjutsu! _It takes seasoned nin _years _to even understand the basics!"

'Ah, so a ninja starts this bloodbath off,' Sarutobi thought before replying, "I assure you that he is proficient. He is not a master, but he will be in several years."

"Do you have any of his work that we could examine?" Shikaku asked. People around the room nodded their heads in agreement, if only because a Nara was speaking.

Sarutobi nodded.

"You just witnessed it. His silence seals."

The chamber exploded in arguments again.

"Many of you do not understand fuuinjutsu, so I will explain this in plain terms. Naruto took many slips of paper, one for each chair, used ink, chakra, and a brush to create a seal that silenced you until I released it. There is no residue of his actions. You cannot trace it back to him, and if he were an enemy, he could have _killed _you all," he said simply. The left side of the room, where most of the shinobi were, thought contemplatively. The civilians looked worried.

"_Exactly_! If he learns more shinobi arts, he could kill us all!" a man yelled.

"And what is keeping him from murdering _you_ in your sleep Kunimitsu-san? I happen to have _documented proof _of your actions against the boy," the Hokage responded. The man shrunk back into his seat. Another woman picked up where he left off.

"He's dangerous! He-"

"-is a valuable weapon."

'_Of course_,' Sarutobi rolled his eyes while everyone faced the speaker, '_Of course that's what Danzo says_. _But any support for Naruto is welcome right now.'_

"Of course. If you would all turn to page 30, you will see a list of patents that Naruto has for shinobi equipment. The Oinin Commander is here to answer any questions about the quality of Naruto's work." Sarutobi gestured to the space beside him, where said person instantly appeared.

"Hokage-sama," she said as she bowed.

He turned back towards the Council.

"But he's not even a genin!"

'_Finally a logical complaint!'_

"I have seen him do Academy three. He could do them again in front of an Academy teacher," _Iruka,_ "if you desire."

"But a law was passed many years earlier," Koharu stately silkily, her face impassive, but Sarutobi saw the triumphant gleam in her eyes.

The chamber yelled its agreement.

"Then Team 7 will not be taking their Chuunin Exams here."

Koharu frowned.

"There are plenty of other genin, they-"

"-would be completely inappropriate," Shikaku stated. He straightened the papers in front of him idly.

"As Hokage-sama stated in his report and from what we have seen, Uzumaki-kun would be no ordinary genin. If he is fast in creating his seals, he'll be an unknown force to all ninja, regardless of rank; there are few masters left, and even fewer journeymen since younger generations do not want to put in the theoretical legwork. People can boast the basics, but Uzumaki-kun's proficiency is beyond that. And he has been training in the traditional shinobi arts?" Shikaku looked away from Koharu and towards Sarutobi.

"Yes. Naruto focused on seals, but he is acceptable in taijutsu and jutsu."

"Who has been teaching him?" Yamanaka Inoichi asked from his placed beside Shikaku. He'd never heard of anyone teaching the boy. In fact, after the boy's sixth birthday, he seemed to disappear. Villagers saw him when he went to buy groceries, but within the past few years, he vanished.

"A priest from the Capital," Sarutobi replied. Thank goodness Kurama's background was ironed out, especially since it was airtight.

"_A priest?_"

"His style of taijutsu is very unique." '_It's as savage as a beast,' _Sarutobi thought sarcastically.

The chamber occupants hesitantly accepted his words. Priests weren't known for their viciousness; whatever taijutsu the boy knew would be inefficient against ninja. They smiled inwardly.

"And who taught him jutsu?"

Sarutobi could say Itachi, if only to shock them, but then they argue that Naruto would be the second coming of the Uchiha Massacre. He could also say Iruka, but he didn't want to complicate the man's life. And unfortunately, he couldn't say himself, or they would mutter about favoritism and Danzo would start prepping for a war against him.

"He has a wind affinity. He doesn't know many jutsu other than the Academy three, per say, but can bend the wind to his bidding."

Shikaku hummed softly at the diversion. Sarutobi stood his ground; what he said wasn't a lie, Naruto didn't know a lot of jutsu.

"But there are many talented students in the Academy who could take the exam!"

The crowd nodded like mindless sheep.

"They lack many things. Naruto has the physical strength, the chakra capacity, and the drive. I have seen him fight and can vouch that he could defeat many of the lower chuunin in our ranks."

Seeing that they couldn't shake the Hokage's conviction that the boy was capable, they switched tactics.

"Then why are we wasting such _potential_," the woman spat out the word, "when we could just promote him to chuunin?"

'_Ah. If they can't prevent Naruto from being a ninja, then they want to keep him away from the last Uchiha, hoping that Naruto will die on a mission.' _

"You do know what the Chuunin exam entails, right, representative?" he asked calmly.

The woman sputtered.

"W-why yes!"

"Then you would know that almost every chuunin exam has a _team_ portion, and that the _team_ must pass through the _team _portion before they can enter the _individual _portion. And if Team 7 cannot pass the written and _team _portion, then they cannot compete in the individual portion, and if a team cannot enter the individual portion, then _none _of the members of that team can be nominated to be a chuunin."

He smiled. The Council was caught.

"…but the law…" one person complained weakly. Sarutobi smiled brightly at the man.

"If only you all followed my laws as rigorously as you followed that one. And if I were any less benevolent, I would have sent_ Anbu _to_ slit your throat while you slept_ for every time that you _personally _disregarded the law that I passed after the Fourth died. Not to mention the times that your _family _disregarded that law."

The temperature in the room plummeted, even as the Hokage's smile grew. His killing intent pressed against them from all sides, suffocating them. This was how much anger the Hokage accumulated, how much he endured. Every time that a villager, man or woman, civilian or shinobi, spoke out against the blond and thought they were getting away with it, the Hokage _remembered_. He remembered and had bided his time to show his hand.

Shikaku didn't have a doubt in his mind that if the Hokage desired it, at least half of the heads in the room would be rolling on the ground for their past transgressions. And the Hokage would have proof for every rolling head. Justification.

Naruto was going to be a genin of Konoha.

"The Council agrees with the Hokage's decision to make Uzumaki Naruto the third member of Team 7, which consists of Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke: jounin instructor, Hatake Kakashi," Danzo stated at the end of the session.

Another small smirk settled itself on the Hokage's face. Danzo's eyes narrowed.

"Hokage-sama?" he asked. The smirk turned into a smile.

"Well, as you all know, I cannot force a _civilian _to be a ninja; he must agree," he said pleasantly.

The chamber burst into anger again.

"Then what was the point of this!? We will choose a genin from the Academy!"

"No." The Hokage glared. "This session proved that Uzumaki Naruto is the _only _qualified person for Team 7 if you want Team 7 to _succeed_. I cannot _force _him, but I can _negotiate_. Since I already know him, I am sure that he will give us favorable terms."

"_Give us!?" _

"UNLESS you want to lose a potential _fuuijutsu master_ to another village? There is no law that says that he must stay in Konoha."

Danzo's heart raced. The only thing worse than losing a fuuinjutsu user was losing a fuuinjutsu user _and _a jinchuuriki to another village. It wouldn't weaken Konoha's ranks since the boy wasn't in them yet, but it would vastly _strengthen_ their opponents.

'_I want him in Ne_,' he thought. But first, he had to keep the boy here.

"What are you going to offer him?" Inuzuka Tsume asked. She had no ill will for the boy, even if the scent of fox disturbed her dogs.

"It depends on what he asks for."

"He'll probably ask for nothing!" a man in back crooned. This seemed to raise the spirit in the chamber.

Sadly, Sarutobi couldn't refute that.

* * *

Shino glanced up at his father from his place at the dinner table. He was about to ask Shibi about the people he met today, but his father asked first.

"What do you know about Team 7?" his father asked abruptly.

"I am not well-acquainted with them, otou-san," Shino replied hesitantly. It was out of character for his father.

His father took a bite of rice. The duo sat in silence.

"Otou-san, do you know a man named Kaneshiro Kurama?"

"I don't know anyone by that name. Should I?" his father asked curiously.

"No. I met him today and thought that he was an interesting person." _Dangerous_.

Shibi took a bite of his rice.

"This village is rather large; I cannot meet everyone, but the Archives will have information on him," Shibi replied.

"Why did you find him interesting?" Shibi continued, letting a large queen to settle on his shoulder.

"His chakra was unique. I wanted to know if he had a minor bloodline." That was true. Kurama-san had the same chakra as the plants.

"Unique like Hatake-san's?" Shibi asked, interested.

"I have not had adequate exposure to Hatake-san's chakra to compare," Shino replied truthfully.

"Quell your curiosity at the Archives. If that doesn't satisfy you, I will ask Morino-san when I see him next," suggested Shibi.

"Yes, otou-san," Shino agreed. He had a feeling that his father would have to call in a favor to the interrogator for Kurama's information.

* * *

When Shino arrived at the Namikaze compound at six in the morning, both of its occupants were in the front yard.

"Ohayo Shino-kun!" Naruto called out happily. Shino's kikaichu reacted by entering the compound and landing on the tree trunk next to the doorway.

"Good morning, Shino-kun. Perfect timing; Naruto will show you how to take care of the plants." Kurama motioned to the blond, who smiled happily as he watered the flowers with a clear hose. The ground rippled as the boy's chakra spread into it. Thankfully, the kikaichu weren't too disturbed by the excess chakra; they twittered from their perch.

"The berries are ripe enough for your kikaichu to snack on; don't worry if they devour them all. Your bugs are also welcome to the herbs that don't have a nameplate, but it's their risk since we don't know what those herbs can do," Kurama supplied when Naruto finished. The boy chattered as he worked and managed to soak Shino's sleeves, and his sunglasses dripped.

Shino nodded to Kurama, who shielded his body from the sprays of water with a perfectly positioned newspaper. Shino went over towards Naruto, who was in the herb garden, conversing with the plants.

"-and Iruka thanks you for helping his cough, Mura Mura! He also gave me a recipe for a burn salve using yours and Ken Ken's leaves, but I hopefully won't have to use it…" at this, the blond glared at Kurama, who smirked before entering the house.

"Naruto-kun," Shino interrupted.

"Oh! Shino! Come! This is here Mura," he gestured towards a purple-leaved plant, "he's nice for teas and he helps with coughs. Ken Ken is supposed to be for burns," at least the black-flowered plant wasn't for ingestion, "Tsu Tsu is sweet, so we like to add her to dishes instead of sugar," a flower with pink petals, "but everyone else is a little bit of a mystery," Naruto finished sadly.

"…are those their official names?"

"Nope!" Naruto shook his head. "But Kurama figured that most of these herbs are thought to be extinct anyways so no one will mind if we name them what we want."

Shino squatted down. He peered at the rows of herbs.

"Do you know if any of them are poisonous?" he eventually asked. Naruto looked up.

"Just Akashi over there," the blond point towards a curling poison ivy on the wall, "and we think that Mi-ne by your feet is a paralytic." The boy shrugged his shoulders.

"I'll warn my colony," Shino stated as the ivy waved its leaves at him.

"Don't worry about him" Naruto said with his back to the wall. "As long as you're at least six feet from him, he won't attack you, and you have a fifty-fifty chance of that happening; he's a little bipolar."

"… Thank you for the warning. I'll keep it in mind."

* * *

The Hokage was surprised when he entered the compound to inform Naruto of his possible placement in Team 7. He'd seen a lot there. He'd walked in on Kurama dangling by his ankles as a tree branch held him; witnessed Naruto coaxing the plants on either side of the walkway to intertwine into an arch. After those scenes, he thought that he'd never see anything in that garden that surprised him anymore. And then he saw the Aburame heir tending to the garden as if he did it every day.

'_I should visit Naruto more…' _Sarutobi thought to himself. He was glad, pleasantly surprised, that Naruto made a friend, but felt a little disappointed in himself that he wasn't there to witness it.

"Jiji!" He smiled as Naruto gave a joyous shout. He saw Shino turn his head to look at him, and then freeze as he realized who he was.

"Hokage-sama!" he gave a deep bow.

"No need for that, Shino-kun," the Hokage chuckled. "Though I need to speak with Naruto."

"Perhaps you should speak with me first, Hokage-sama," Kurama smiled. He stood in the entry, motioning for the old man to enter.

"Eh? What for?" Naruto narrowed his eyes at the redhead.

"It's a political issue," was the smooth reply. Naruto looked at the Hokage, who confirmed it.

"Then I trust the both of you not to screw me over," he huffed and dragged Shino towards the vegetable plot.

"Don't worry Naruto. Nothing can be finalized without your signature," the Hokage replied. Naruto nodded.

When the two left, Shino asked his fellow gardener, "Do you trust Kurama-san to negotiate for you?"

Naruto gave him a wry grin, "I don't trust him as far as these vegetables can throw. But I do trust jiji."

* * *

"… if you deem that Naruto is fit to be a Chuunin at the end of the Exams, then you will promote him, regardless of what the other judges decide. Naruto will also have access to the Hokage's secret library; it's his birthright anyways, considering his father, but this will give you an excuse to let him in,"

"Thanks," Sarutobi snorted as Kurama continued.

"-this house should be in his name-"

"The documents were sealed after the Fourth's death, but I'll unseal them today."

"-and I need assurance that you'll try to keep Danzo away from him," Kurama finished. Sarutobi's eyes narrowed.

"What does Danzo have to do with this?"

"He's running _Ne _under your nose, and he sent sniffers around after the Council's decision earlier today."

Sarutobi's tea cup clattered against the saucer.

"How do you know this?" he asked harshly.

"I have lived longer than everyone in your village combined. I recognize the handiwork of _Ne_, no matter the guise. I am confined to the compound," _for now_, "but Naruto brings me news from all the villages; it's intelligence training for him. The death of Kiri's most influential politician was _Ne_'s work, as was the destruction in Ta no Kuni. You have been busy, but I haven't; I see the patterns."

"How much do you know?"

"Enough." Kurama flicked in hand in dismissal.

"…when will Naruto have a stable body for you?"

"At the earliest, in two months. With him becoming a genin, I suspect he won't finish creating and testing the seals until the Chuunin Exams; we already have most of the theory settled."

Sarutobi sighed.

"Danzo's interest has grown, but I will run interference if I can." Kurama nodded his assent.

"When you gain a stable body, will you be willing to go on some missions?"

A feral smile spread across Kurama's face, and Sarutobi reminded himself that this man was no man, but a beast.

"A chance to wreak havoc and destruction?" his voice dropped an octave, a deep growl.

"Perhaps. I have several _personal _missions that I do not want any record of, and do not want to risk my ninja with."

"But you don't mind risking me?" sang the fox.

"You can't die."

"No, I can't."

* * *

Naruto knew what Kurama and Jiji were discussing; he didn't know the circumstances, but he knew the outcome. He was a genin.

He devoted his childhood to this. As others his age swung from playground sets, ate sweets, and went to festivals with their families, he locked himself in a dust room tracing letters. While they counted the stars in the sky, he counted the strokes in an over-lapping seal. While they were children, he prepared himself to be a fuuinjutsu master.

But he'd done it happily. He gave up those trinkets for this, _this_, being a ninja, becoming the Hokage. He treasured every prank he did, every ramen dinner at Ichiraku's with Iruka, every break with the Hokage, but none of them could compete with the thrill of a functioning seal or a jutsu mastered. He was a child by age, but he was a ninja by heart.

Shino left a while ago, and when he left, Naruto bit his lip to keep in his happiness.

_Genin! _

It didn't matter what his guardians were negotiating; _he was a genin! _

This was the only time in his life that he wished that he took the written exam, just so he could crumple the pages in his hands and then throw them in the air like a love-sick manga. _Genin._

Should he celebrate? Act cool? Did Iruka know? What team would he be placed on? Graduation wasn't for months. So he would probably join an existing team, but four-man teams didn't exist.

Ah.

Either someone quit, were comatose or severely injured, or they died.

'_Quitting so close to the Chuunin Exams? No, if they didn't want to participate, they just wouldn't have shown up, not quit.' _

That left severe injury or death; both were equally plausible. An injury meant that the third member couldn't complete missions; it usually wasn't an issue since the jounin instructor gave individual practice. A severe injury or being comatose meant that the third member may never recover, so a temporary genin was usually assigned and became a permanent member in the worst case scenario.

The death of a member was self-explanatory.

_'But both those situations require flowers,'_ Naruto thought to himself. It was polite. If the member was injured, he would deliver the bouquet with a 'Get Well' card; if the member was dead, he would lay it on the grave.

He surveyed his garden. It bloomed with various flowers, but he wasn't sure if he could arrange them a beautiful manner. Did the water ferns look okay with the camellias? Were the roses okay even if they had thorns?

'_…I'll just buy some.' _And then pray that the fox didn't force him to learn flower arrangement. The man was surprisingly frugal with their income even though the duo rarely used it.

_'I'll buy myself a gift while I'm out, too!'_ he giggled to himself. Maybe he would try that new Dango shop? Or maybe buy some new ninja weapons; he'd always wanted to experiment with ninja wire.

* * *

Naruto happily sang to himself in-between bites of dango, ignoring the glares sent his was. None of the villagers could compare to Iruka's 'I'm-so-disappointed-in-you' stare/glare or Kurama's 'my-revenge-will-be-sweet' stuck his tongue out when several of them raised their voices at him.

Their scowls only made him smile brighter.

The Yamanaka's shop was just a little ways away from the village center, so Naruto didn't have to suffer long; before he knew it, the cheerful sign of the flower shop greeted him.

The first thing he noticed was how nice the air conditioning was, the second was the A small bell that rang as he opened the door walked in. The third had to be the multitudes of flowers inside. Bouquets of various sizes sat in various sizes of tubs, fresh and dried wreaths hung from every available wall space. Naruto spotted white 'Annabelle' hydrangeas in pots next to tulips and ferns. The shop was a garden.

"This place is awesome!" His fingers traced the edges of leaves and blooms.

"Haha. I know!" A blonde appeared from around a mass of tall bamboo. She grinned at him.

"Hi! I'm Yamanaka Ino; my family owns this shop."

"Really? _That's so cool!_ How do you have azaleas this time of year? But man, you guys must love your rhododendrons," he murmured as he spotted several other species.

"Well," Ino smiled, "I'll gladly answer all of your questions," dramatic pause, "in exchange for your name."

Naruto blushed. He should probably ask Kurama for a recap on those etiquette lessons.

* * *

"Forehead-girl!"

"Ino-pig! Slow day?" Sakura set a box with onigiri on the counter and hopped onto an empty stool.

"No way! I have to tell you about this blond guy I met today!"

Sakura smiled and handed Ino a pair of chopsticks.

"So, he's our age, but he _definitely _knows his gardening. He drilled me on soil acidity, and the temperature and humidity we kept our greenhouses at, and we talked for an hour about flowers before he said that he was looking for a 'Get Well' bouquet. So I helped him out and promised to teach him a little about flower arranging the next time he came. He was pretty cool, not as cool as Sasuke, but pretty cool. And he's genuinely interested in flowers, which you know, most guys our age don't, but he is," Ino smiled around a bite of onigiri.

Sakura giggled at her friend's enthusiasm.

"He sounds perfect for you! Does that mean you're giving up on Sasuke-kun?" she teased. Ino's face did a 180.

"No way, Forehead!" but then she tapped her chin in thought, "but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate other guys. It's nice to have someone my age like flowers as much as I do. He even promised to come back to discuss several species of flowers in his garden that he's trying to crossbreed."

"That's nice," Sakura smiled sincerely. "What's this flower boy's name?"

"Ah, Naruto."

"…like the ramen topping?"

"…yeah. That's what he said."

The two girls burst out laughing.

"-haha- it kind of fits him!" Ino wiped tears from her eyes. "But I've never seen or heard him before today," she realized suddenly.

"Maybe he's new to the village?" Sakura said. Ino nodded.

"Yeah. You're probably right. There isn't anyone in the village I don't know!" she cheered.

"What? The Gossip Queen doesn't know someone?" Inoichi teased as he came through the door.

"Daddy!" Ino leapt over the counter and gave her father a hug.

"It's nothing. I know him now, so I still know everyone in the village," she grinned. Sakura giggled behind her hand. Ino shot a raspberry towards her.

"Well, as long as you know everyone," her father laughed before heading towards the back storeroom.

"But you do know, Ino-pig, that if this kid is our age, he has to have parents, and that you don't know them," Sakura said slyly as she munched on an onigiri.

Ino's shriek of frustration was well-worth it, even when Inoichi burst from the storeroom with kunai flying.

* * *

"I'm b-a-c-k!" Naruto called out as he entered. Kurama sat on the couch in the front living room, royal purple smoke curling from his kiseru pipe.

The fox tilted his head towards the blond, eyes distant as he huffed another breath.

"Did the negotiations go well?" Naruto brought the wrapped bouquet with him as he stood behind the couch that Kurama draped himself over.

"They went well." Kurama still faced away from him, exhaling and inhaling slowly. A tendril of smoke touched Naruto's nose. He scrunched it.

"That's good." The boy sat in the armchair, watching his companion. It was rare for Kurama to smoke, but he said that it helped clear his mind so that he could see things in perspective.

As if the fox could see _anything _clearly with the amount of smoke in the room.

"So, I _am _a genin, right? You didn't go stupid and negotiate a mansion or something instead of that, right?" Naruto half-teased. With Kyuubi, he never knew.

Kurama grinned at him, canines peeking over his lower lip, and exhaled more smoke.

"You're a genin. I adequately sold you into slavery to Konoha. No need to thank me," he replied smoothly.

Naruto scowled.

"Stupid fox," Naruto groused, but it lacked real bite.

"Do I get to know what you negotiated for?" the blond wondered out loud.

Kurama glanced at him thoughtfully.

"No."

Naruto scowled.

"Just kidding, kit," Kurama chuckled. "I asked for access to the Hokage's library and the deed to this house."

"Library?"

"Yes, the _secret _one that contains scrolls that the Hokages' of past accumulated. It's said to hold lost jutsus, especially fuuinjutsu from the Whirlpool village."

"Whirlpool village?" Naruto tilted his head.

"Yes. Known for its fuuinjutsu. It was destroyed decades ago."

Naruto's face fell for a second before perking back up.

"When do I get to go?!" the blond exclaimed excitedly. He waved his arms in the air, flower petals raining down on Kurama, who sneezed.

"Gah, Kit. We have to train for your _genin team, _remember?"

"Oh yeah! Sorry! I was just a little excited, ehehe," Naruto scratched the back of his head.

Kurama's lips twitched before his put his hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"I'll fix us some dinner," he said as he rose from his seat, his kannushi unwrinkled and silken as he stood. He picked up the bags on the ground and headed towards the front kitchens.

"I want yakisoba!" Naruto called after the man, who didn't reply.

When the man disappeared down the hall, Naruto's eyes slid to the kiseru pipe on the table, which still emitted its purple smoke. He hovered a hand over it and watched as the smoke curled around his fingers before travelling to his nose. He breathed in the sweet scent and felt a calmness fall over him.

"Naruto!" Iruka called out as he entered the house.

Naruto snapped himself out of it and ran towards the voice.

"Iruka-sensei! Guess what?!" he called out.

* * *

It just wasn't Kakashi's day today.

Firstly, he had a meeting with the Hokage at four in the morning. _Four_. He hadn't woke up that early since his Anbu days. He rose himself up for the meeting like a good shinobi, and at said meeting, the Hokage looked up from his papers once, said "Uzumaki Naruto will be joining Team 7 at the end of your vacation," handed him a file, and dismissed him. He woke up at _four _in the _morning _for a meeting that lasting _less _than thirty _seconds_.

And the annoying thing was that that Hokage marked the meeting as urgent, so Kakashi _had _to be on time.

Kakashi made his way to the forest by the Academy and sat in a tree. He'd have to bide his time until the shops opened so that he could buy himself breakfast. He was going to eat miso soup with eggplant until he exploded.

Having Naruto on his team was unexpected, but not wholly unwelcome. Kakashi knew first-hand how valuable fuuinjutsu was; it was versatile, capable of offense, defense, and retreat. The boy was driven, creative, and a chakra powerhouse. If these traits were in any other genin, Kakashi would have thought that Kami was smiling upon him.

But these desirable traits were in Uzumaki Naruto, his sensei's son. A boy who reminded him of everyone he'd lost. Reminded him of comrades' corpses left on burned battlefields and homes that remained empty. Who evoked memories so strong that sometimes Kakashi wished that his sensei failed, and that Kakashi died.

Sometimes he wished that everyone died.

Sometimes, he wished that he did more for Naruto. Wished that he raised the baby and protected the child. Wished that he taught the teen that would become a shinobi like his father. Wished that he could be proud of the man that Naruto would become and know that he helped shape that.

But he didn't take care of the baby after the Kyuubi attack was over. The Hokage didn't blame him; he _was _a shinobi, but barely older than a child himself. Kakashi told himself that the boy would be fine; his sensei's legacy would be fine.

When guilt tugged on his mind, Kakashi signed up for 'Naruto baby-sitting' duty just so that he could feel like he didn't completely let down his sensei, but after he quit Anbu, he never saw the child again. And after the Council's law, he didn't expect that he ever would.

It was one of his deepest, darkest secrets that when the Council passed the law banning Naruto from being a shinobi, Kakashi felt _relieved_.

_(He wouldn't be plagued by ghosts and nightmares every time he saw a glimpse of that golden hair._)

The Hokage wouldn't have it. Like a true shinobi, Sarutobi went behind the Council's back and made sure that Naruto was invaluable.

In a week, Kakashi was going teach his sensei's son. He was going to pretend that they never met, that they had no connection to each other, even though Kakashi was one of two people in the village that knew the boy's parents, even though Kakashi had been there when Kushina gave birth.

Kakashi buried the skeletons in his closet and made sure that they were more than six feet deep. His only problem was that soil doesn't hinder ghosts.

"Where is he?!" a voice asked harshly.

Instinctively, Kakashi masked his chakra, tucked Icha Icha Paradise away, and crouched into position. He spied through the leaves and saw a group of chuunin huddled and murmuring.

"Don't worry," the tallest of the pack said, "He always arrives at the Academy early."

'_Ah, so they're looking for a teacher,_' Kakashi thought to himself. Students would never go to school this much earlier.

"There he is!" one of them hissed.

Kakashi turned his head to gaze at the figure who just passed the gates. Brown hair, scar across the nose, ah, Umino Iruka.

The gaggle went towards the man, who took one look at their determined faces, scowled and walked more determinedly towards the Academy's front door.

"Iruka! Tell us where that demon is!"

Said man ignored them.

An arm wrapped around Iruka's shoulder as the owner sidled close.

"Hey. We've been friends since the Academy, right? We just want to give the brat a Congratulations gift for making genin." Some of the group snickered behind their hands.

_Gods, chuunin. _

Kakashi rolled his eyes. He stalked closer.

"I'm remember you telling me we weren't friends after I defended Naruto _from you _last time," the brunette gave an unimpressed glance at the arm around his shoulder before he brushed it off.

The man scowled.

"Don't be a little bitch, Iruka. Just tell us where the demon brat is, and we won't have to hurt you." Knuckles cracked threateningly.

Iruka kept walking.

"Bitch!" a fist came flying from Iruka's left. The papers in the man's arms hit the ground as the carrier positioned his body for a roundhouse kick. The foot collided with the attacker's chin and instead of sending the man flying, Iruka used his momentum to keep the body on his foot as he clobbered the other members of the group with their leader.

"Yo!" a kunai attached with ninja wire wrapped around Kakashi's neck. Not his smartest idea, shunshin-ing that close to an already tense ninja, but it was _five _in the morning.

Kakashi flexed the muscles in his neck to determine how tight the wire coiled. He felt an initial sting before a drop of blood ran out his neck.

'_…oh. It's pretty tight, especially since he's in his home village.' _Kakashi thought casually. He'd let down his guard because hello, _chuunin_, but he was proven wrong. It was a little embarrassing, being taken down by an Academy instructor who hadn't gone on a _real _ninja mission in years.

"So…" he gave an eye smile as the other man peered at him through narrowed eyes.

"Hatake Kakashi. What a surprise." Iruka didn't slacken the tension.

"Maa… do you think this is necessary?" Kakashi flicked his eyes down to the wire. The men on the ground groaned.

"Is it?" Iruka raised a brow.

"I'm not with them."

Iruka's eyes assessed him before they widened.

"Oh! Hatake-san! I'm so sorry! I just reacted! Are you okay? Hold on, I have a bandaid somewhere," Iruka gushed.

'_This is embarrassing. I haven't used a bandaid in years…' _the jounin thought as Iruka retracted his wire and gently place a small bandaid over his cut.

"…maa… thank you, Iruka-sensei. But are you going to deal with them?" Kakashi pointed behind the man.

Iruka took a glance back, snorted, picked up his stack of papers, and replied, "No. I'll just report them for attacking a fellow Konoha nin to the Hokage and mention that it was over Naruto. He'll deal with them accordingly."

The group gulped before scampering away. Kakashi was duly impressed; sensei was _sly_.

"So, Hatake-san. Was there something that you needed?" Iruka asked as he straightened the papers in his arms.

"Aa~ I overheard that you know Uzumaki Naruto, who just happens to be the new genin on my team. I wanted to ask about him so that I can prepare exercises for our first meeting." Right. As if Kakashi ever spent that much thought into his team before; he just wanted to waste time before breakfast.

Iruka must have caught on because he narrowed his eyes.

"Well…" Iruka paused, lips pursed in thought before his eyes lit up, "I know! If you want to know about Naruto so much, why don't you join us for dinner tonight?" the man finished cheerfully.

…what…?

"…that's very generous, Iruka-sensei, but-"

"Oh, don't worry about intruding! He loves invited company!" Iruka leaned forward with a smile. Kakashi swore to himself that he would say no, but Iruka looked like one of his nin dogs when they were puppies, and there was a subtle threat in his aura.

"Sure…" he relented.

"Good! I'll pick you up at six."

This day sucked.

* * *

"I need to send this message to Naruto saying that Hatake Kakashi is coming over for dinner tonight, okay?" Iruka pet the messenger hawk, who saluted with his wing before flying off.

"Hey, Kurama! Do you know a Hatake Kakashi?" Naruto asked as he entered the living room.

"The famous Sharingan no Kakashi? The Icha Icha Paradise pervert?" Kurama raised a brow. Naruto shrugged.

"Probably. How many guys are named Kakashi?"

"…Naru-chan. It's terrifying that even though I've been teaching you, you're still this stupid. Don't you study what I tell you?"

"I'm not book smart. I learn best under pressure."

"I can arrange that," Kurama grinned evilly. Naruto shivered.

"Er… I promise to study harder. But Iruka said that Hatake-san's coming over."

Kurama's fox ears perked up.

"Really? He's probably grown a lot since I saw him last."

"Kurama. _Please_. Don't torment him like you tormented jiji," Naruto begged. The fox dismissed his pleas with a wave.

"I am willing to buy a pet for you," Naruto compromised.

Kurama halted. A pet?

"Deal. But I suggest that we prank him."

"Kyuu-chan, if he's in the bingo books, don't you think he could kill us if we did that?" But a prank did seem pretty good.

"Don't worry. I have a wonderful idea."

* * *

"Maa… sensei. You're right on time."

Iruka stood in front of Kakashi's apartment with a bag of groceries.

"Well, I did tell you I'd pick you up at six," the other man chided. Kakashi glanced at the clock: 6:00 and thirty one seconds.

He sighed.

"…you did. I didn't expect you to know where I live, though." Not many knew.

"I took a peek at your file while I working at the missions desk today." Iruka shrugged.

The taller man's hair deflated with defeat as he locked his door and followed the teacher to wherever his new student lived.

After twenty minutes of walking, it was apparent where they were going, the Namikaze compound.

'_Kami. If we're _not _going there, I'll stop being late for the rest of my life.' _

They arrived at the Namikaze compound. That was it; there were no gods in the world. That, or they all hated him (which was very likely).

The outside of the compound looked the same as it did ten years ago, but the inside was bare, devoid of the life he remembered. But with seals, that was a hard thing to assess.

Iruka reached through the doorway, his arm disappearing as it passed through the seals, and pulled out a slip of paper. Without prompting, Kakashi bit his thumb and smeared blood on the seal.

"_Oh_," Kakashi gazed wondrously at the plants that appeared before his eyes. His mask kept his mouth from hitting the ground.

"Haha. Come on," Iruka chuckled. They slowly walked to the front door, giving Kakashi time to observe his surroundings. Several of the long grasses tickled his legs on he passed.

"Tenzo would love this place," he muttered to himself. Iruka heard and gave him a quick smile.

"Maybe one day," Iruka opened the door and waved Kakashi in.

"Kai!" Kakashi had a gut feeling that this wasn't a genjutsu.

In front of him were scores of females, all blonde and scantily dressed. Some were dressed as miko priestesses, or, if the state of their clothes were any indication, getting _undressed_. Others were maids busy with cleaning the floors and dusting, on their tiptoes and stretching while wearing impossibly short skirts. A pair of pig-tailed school girls were studying in a corner, their skirts _definitely _not regulation length. All of them were beautiful blooms in the sunlight, with impossibly proportioned bodies stuffed into clothes many sizes too small.

The first gush of blood shot out like a wound. Surprised, Iruka rushed forwards in a fighting stance that slackened when he saw the scene in the foyer.

As one, the females looked towards Kakashi and giggled.

"'Kashi-kun!" they cried as they shed their clothes and dog-piled him. Kakashi felt light-headed as a harem of bodies pressed against him.

Kami _did _love him.

He passed out blissfully.

* * *

Iruka didn't know whether to be proud or disgusted, because as fun as it was to see the infamous Copy Cat nin be taken down like that, the fact that Naruto used that deplorable technique, _again_, was worrisome.

Naruto, back in one piece and male, guffawed at the platinum-haired man. He cheered and did a victory lap around the unconscious body.

"Don't be mad, Iruka-sensei! That was my ultimate prank against perverts!"

A vein ticked in Iruka's forehead.

"I know," he groused, "but what did I say about using your Sexy no Jutsu?"

"But that wasn't the Sexy no Jutsu, that was the _Harem _no Jutsu," Naruto replied slyly.

"Besides, don't tell me you don't want to see under his mask."

Iruka paused. He _was _interested.

Blackmail pictures it was, then.

* * *

Kakashi woke up disoriented, but comfortable. Half of a blanket covered his legs, his face was mashed up again the cushions, nearly suffocating him, and there was a hot weight on his torso.

"He's awake!" Naruto cheered. Kakashi felt the weight being lifted from his side.

"Good. It was a nuisance to have the teapot so far away," another voice replied.

…_teapot? _

"Let me help you up." Iruka pulled him to a sitting position.

_TEAPOT? _

"Teapot?" Kakashi asked faintly.

The redhead in the armchair answered him.

"It's natural for people to twitch when they wake. The teapot was just a way to alert us."

"Teapot?"

"Every twitch you made was emphasized, so you couldn't pretend to be asleep. If you really _were _asleep, your twitch would have toppled the teapot over, the scalding water would have woken you up. If you tried to attack us, you'd be scalded. We're safe no matter what." The redhead gave a devilish grin.

"Ahem," Iruka cleared his throat, "now that Hatake-san's awake, we can move towards the dining room."

As they filed out of the room, the redhead walked beside Kakashi.

"Shisho-san, are you the one who taught Naruto taijutsu?" Kakashi gave an infamous, fake eye smile.

"Call me Kurama, Hatake-san. It's been a long time since I've practiced in a temple. But yes, I taught Naruto some taijutsu." The man smiled pleasantly, but Kakashi's instincts were going haywire. There was something strange about this man.

Kurama say across the table from Kakashi. Naruto sat next to the redhead.

"You fell for my Harem no Jutsu!" Naruto crooned once they settled down. He did a happy dance in his seat.

Kakashi twitched.

"Any red-blooded male-"

"Iruka and Kurama don't react to it," Naruto interrupted. The two mentioned smiled at him.

"Well-" Kakashi began again. Geez, when did he become this childish?

"It's not nice to antagonize your jounin instructor, Naruto," Kurama said. The boy froze, a look of horror in his eyes.

'_Ha! So he didn't know!'_ Kakashi did a mini dance in his head.

"H-he's my-"

"Itadakimasu!" Iruka cheered from beside Kakashi. The three adults took another glance at a pale Naruto whose mouth was gaping like a fish, laughed, and began eating.

Maybe it having Naruto on his team wouldn't be so hard.

* * *

**A/N: **The next chapter is going to be entirely focused on Team 7.

EDIT: So, there used to be words down here... they weren't supposed to be here. That was a deleted scene that I felt was superfluous, but apparently Microsoft Word and like to screw with me. T_T


	3. Chapter 3

_**Disclaimer:** Anything you recognize is not mine._

_Sorry for the late update! _

* * *

_Review Questions _

**Kyuubi no Kitsune no Youko: **I know that the title doesn't make sense now, but it will. ;) (I can't say anymore, otherwise I'll ruin it.)

**Empress of the Abyss: **Thank you for your kind words! And I plan on NO PAIRINGS for this story; I'm not very good at couples. ;P Right now, I'm trying to introduce the other Rookies to Naruto, so hopefully they'll be friends, but only time can tell.

**Wlves854: **I'M SO SORRY! I had the wrong spelling saved in spell correct. T_T First two chapters have been fixed!

**DarkPrime0: **Thanks for telling me about that spelling error. The word was supposed to be 'losing.' Also, it says right before the dinner part that Kakashi just wanted to waste time until breakfast. Iruka realized that Kakashi didn't really want to get to know Naruto, he just wanted to occupy him time (since you can only read Icha Icha so many times -_-" ). Iruka forcefully invited him to dinner because then Kakashi _has _to learn more about Naruto.

Oh, no. That garden is central to almost everything in this story. ;D

**blackicethunder: **Thank you! :D One of my pet peeves while reading fanfiction is short chapters, so I vowed never to post any.

**DarkPirateKing69: **I LOVE THAT ONE! I read it once every month, seriously! ;D It's one of the best!

And about Iruka. Yeah, I really like secretly-a-badass-Iruka, so I figured that I'd make him ex-Anbu or something. :P But I just edited out that part, so you don't have to worry about it.

**Cobra0000: **Naruto won't be selling anymore seals (I think). The only reason he sold them in the first place was for money. The orphans fund gave him enough for food and clothes, but Naruto needed to buy things like shuriken and kunai. He also wanted to reciprocate the gifts that the Hokage and Iruka gave him for his birthdays/holidays/whatever.

**MagnusVolcanus:** erm... maybe? I honestly don't remember anything from Naruto, but it you have suggestions for jutsus, I'll be glad to look them up. I do plan on making use of a demonic strength and stuff…yeah…

About Kurama's poisonous chakra, no, I did not know that, but thank you for telling me! I plan on him not being poisoned by it for spoiler reasons, but hopefully you'll have your answer within the next chapter.

As for pairings, no, I don't plan on any because I'm absolute rubbish at romance, but he will be good friends with her. In all honestly, the closest I'll ever get to a pairing is best friends. ;)

But thank you for reviewing even if you are lacking sleep!

**TraceReading: **Thank you for that, but I know that Naruto's name means Maelstrom. It's more like an inside joke for me because for some odd reason I think it'll be funny if he was wrong about the meaning of his name because no one told him, and _we, the readers_, know the true meaning. It's also personal to me because my mother writes simplified characters and my dad writes the traditional; you should see them trying to decipher each other's notes; it's hilarious, especially when they use uncommon words with each other. :P

**AspergianStoryteller: **Those references, my dear, were completely intentional. I thought that adding in things like that would make the readers remember more of the minor characters.

* * *

**Akashi **: from Kuroko no Basket, the name of the temperamental poison ivy

**Mura Mura: **also from Kuroko, the name of purple plant used in teas

**Mi-ne: **is Aomine, he's blue and paralytic.

**Tsu-Tsu: **is Satsuki, who's sweet

* * *

I thought about putting in a key at the end, but I figured that it was more fun for people who knew of the mangas to pick them up themselves, and people who didn't know them would just think of them as silly names. I really like adding in subtle references. If anyone reads Fruits Basket, they'll pick up on the one in here. :D

**TO ALL THE SUPER NICE READERS THAT REVIEWED WITH NICE THINGS TO SAY: **Thanks! I could reply to you all individually, but I'd rather fill up that space with a story you can read, if you don't mind. ;D

**A/N: **So, yeah, I just read up about Sakura's parents, but other than using their names, I'm completely fictionalizing their past. Er. Sorry?

And kind of hate this chapter, which is why it took two (three now?) weeks to write it, but I can't think of another alternative, sorry again. T_T

So, according to Naruto wiki, hunter-nin are Kiri's branch of Anbu, but I like the idea of Konoha having a branch like that, so I'm keeping them; it's not like they're a huge part of this story. :D

* * *

And guys, if you think that I forgot a loose end in my plot, TELL ME, because I would rather be reminded and incorporate it than have it randomly about. I'm really forgetful... but most of my details have a role later on, if only I could remember to put them all in… :/

* * *

And **warnings**: language, violence (-ish)

(I don't think either are very bad, but just to be safe…)

* * *

**Chapter 3 **

Kakashi tied two bells to his pants, called a quick goodbye to his ninken, and left for the memorial stone. The morning mist curled around his toes as he ambled through the streets, nose buried in his orange book. Normally, fellow jounin accosted him as he walked, Gai especially, but today, they kept their distance; today, Uzumaki Naruto joined Team 7.

Kakashi saw their curious glances in his peripheral vision. He heard their whispers over the rattling of cart wheels and shouts of merchants selling their wares. He saw the pride in their eyes, not because of them, but because of _him_. They were proud that Kakashi was the fox's container's sensei because they expected the jounin to _kill _the boy, whether mentally or physically.

Who else failed as many teams as he? Who else was so _eccentric _that even other jounin refused to team with him?

Who else could kill as effortlessly as him? Who else could kill the boy and claim that it was a mission gone wrong? A boy already died on a mission with him, who's to say that there couldn't be two? And the worst part was that these shinobi expected him to complete what Kakashi's sensei, the Yondaime, couldn't: kill the fox.

He buried his nose deeper in his book and ignored the thinning of the crowd. He crouched down, stared at the memorial stone unblinkingly, and prayed for the souls of Konoha, because when they died, Minato-sensei was going to murder them.

* * *

Sasuke woke up crying because somewhere in the Uchiha compound's halls, his brother's ghost walked with lightly thumping steps and touched the walls as they creaked and reminded Sasuke that he wasn't good enough. Sasuke destroyed all of _that man's _belongings years ago; he burned them himself and buried the ashes himself, but still that man haunted him.

His Sharingan eyes opened, and for the first time since he obtained them, Sasuke wished he could rip them out because although they made him stronger, they also reminded him of every memory of his brother, every time he looked in a mirror.

* * *

Naruto meditated in the courtyard, drawing in deep breaths as foxfire flickered inside the lanterns. Nerves made him squirm, made him shiver and sweat, made him lose focus…

In the dim light of the rising sun, Naruto meditated until he heard the rush of his blood in his veins, and then he let go of that concentration, let it flow away from his head through his fingers through his feet. He let emotions rush back into him, and for second between choosing to let go or continue meditating, Naruto knew he made the right choice.

Naruto rose from the ground and headed into the inner kitchen. Inside, Kurama clanged away on pots and pans and sang cheerfully out of tune. The man twirled, a bowl of ramen in his hands and placed it at Naruto's seat at the table.

"For your first day," Kurama replied to Naruto's raised eyebrow. The man then proceeded to slide an innocuous, wooden bento box towards the teen, who attempted to open it, but whose hands were painfully slapped with a pair of chopsticks.

"It's your lunch, not your after-breakfast-snack," the redhead chided with a nervous air. Naruto half-wondered if it was poisoned.

"Don't give me that look. Here. I promise that _when _you come back, not _if _you come back, I'll teach you some priestly tricks that I know."

"…_you _were _a priest?" _Naruto asked incredulously. He thought that Kurama wore his Shinto priest outfit mockingly, not that he earned it.

Kurama gave a foxy grin as he replied, "No, but I ate a priest once, does that count?"

Ah. So the outfit _was _mocking.

* * *

"Um… why don't we introduce ourselves?" Sakura interjected into the silence. After the new guy arrived, he pulled out a scroll and scribbled on it enthusiastically, leaving Sasuke and her to awkwardly peek at what he was doing without being obvious about it.

"Sure!" the blond grinned. "My name's Uzumaki Naruto! I love the color orange and fuuijutsu and I hate the three minutes it takes to cook ramen, even though Rama-chan never lets me have any. And… uh, should I tell you some of my skills since we're on the same team?" he asked her. She nodded.

"I'm on track to be a seal master, and I have a wind affinity. And I can juggle… usually. And oh! I'm going to be Hokage! Dattebayo!" Naruto cheered. Sakura quirked a grin at his enthusiasm.

"I'm Haruno Sakura. I like…" she gave a furtive glance towards Sasuke, "I hate… being weak," a blush marred her cheeks briefly, "and I have very good chakra control."

"Uchiha Sasuke." The other boy didn't offer any other information.

"No skills?" Naruto's question was met with a firm glare. The blond's smile grew as he faced Sakura.

"So, Sakura-chan, genjutsu mistress or medic nin?" he asked.

"…neither?"

"Really?" he looked genuinely shocked. "If your chakra control is as good as you say, aren't those two career paths the most logical?"

'_SHANNARO! How dare he doubt our chakra control!?'_

"… really? Kakashi-sensei never said…" But if the boy was right… it could be the answer to prayers! Sakura didn't think that she had enough creativity to master genjutsu, but being a medic played to her strengths perfectly. And medics were highly coveted for their skills and that position was something that her civilian parents understood. Instead of courting death, she would fight against it.

"He probably forgot or something. He's an assassin, you know," Naruto defended. It was nicer than saying that Kakashi's orders were to train the last Uchiha, not her, or even the team as a whole.

She nodded. The man was a jounin; he probably had village safety on his mind.

"So teme, what are you good at? We can't be an efficient team if we don't know each other's strengths and weaknesses," Naruto stuck his face right up to Sasuke's, who frowned so hard that his forehead wrinkled like Kakashi's ninken, Bull.

"Hn… I specialize in my clan's techniques," the teen ground out eventually. Naruto crossed his arms and nodded.

"So… fire? And you have the Sharingan?"

Sasuke gave a curt nod. Naruto thanked Kami that he didn't use hand seals (other than to confuse people with nonsensical ones, which was great because he didn't want either Kakashi or Sasuke to steal any of his jutsus without permission).

"What jutsus do you use, Sakura-chan?" he asked her. The girl blushed sheepishly.

"I can do the Academy three. I… um… don't have a lot of chakra…"

Naruto nodded in understanding.

"That's fine. Medical jutsus don't usually require a lot of chakra, just precision." The blond scribbled a note onto the corner of his scroll.

"Maa… Naruto-kun, are you taking over my job?" Kakashi asked cheerfully as he popped into existence. Naruto waved a hand at him.

"I'm being efficient with the time you made us waste. And you've been here since beforeI was here; you could've stepped in whenever."

A vein ticked on Sakura's forehead.

"YOU'VE BEEN HERE THE ENTIRE TIME?" Sakura fumed. Kakashi held up his hands placatingly.

"Now, now. We don't have time to waste," he chided, "It's time to do the bell test!"

The original two members of Team 7 groaned. Kakashi clapped his hands and faced Naruto.

"So, the goal of the bell test is to obtain these two bells," Kakashi pointed to the two strapped to his pants, "before noon. Those without a bell will run laps on the lake until we start today's D-ranked mission, while the ones with bells receive training. That's it. Begin!" he gave an eye smile.

Sasuke and Sakura disappeared into the forest while Naruto stayed still. Kakashi peered at the blond over the top of his Icha Icha Paradise.

"Begin?"

"I just need to get those bells, right?"

Kakashi nodded.

Naruto held out a hand and gathered a sliver of wind around his hand. He nudged it towards the bells' strings and sliced through them. Then he crooked a finger and more wind wrapped around the bells and ferried them towards him.

Kakashi's free hand flew to his waist, but was too late; the bells were already in Naruto's hand.

"Look sensei! I got them!"

Sasuke and Sakura reappeared.

"Guys! Look! The bells!" Naruto pointed at the spheres in his hand.

Sasuke glared at Kakashi.

"You let down your guard, sensei," he reprimanded.

Kakashi was pretty sure that he didn't.

"Maa… let's not point fingers, Suke-kun. But excellent use of your affinity, Ruto-kun," Kakashi said. Aforementioned genin glared and mentally promised revenge against the jounin.

"What jutsu did you use?" Sasuke demanded. Naruto cocked an eyebrow at him.

"I didn't use one. That was simple wind manipulation," Naruto shrugged.

"Maa, it's simple because of Naruto's high wind affinity," Kakashi reminded his other genin, especially Sasuke, who looked half intrigued, half jealous.

"How do I figure out my affinity?" the boy asked. Kakashi sighed and rummaged in one of his pockets. He pulled out two slips of chakra paper.

"This is chakra paper. You channel a little bit of your chakra into it; if it-"

Sasuke yelped as his paper crinkled, then burst into flames. He stomped at it furiously.

"Well, since Sasuke's paper crinkled and burst into flame, that means that Sasuke has lightning and fire affinities. Sakura," Kakashi gave a look at Sakura's slip. Her piece crumbled.

"Earth," he nodded, "Now, Naruto's would've cut in two."

Naruto nodded enthusiastically.

"So, Naruto, you have the bells," Kakashi said.

"Yeah. So, what are you going to teach me, sensei?" the boy responded.

"Well… since we finished talking about affinities, it would be a good segue way for me to teach affinity training..." Kakashi trailed off and gave the boy and eye smile.

Naruto rolled his eyes. He knew where this was going. Fine. Guilt trips always worked on him anyways, so he might as well give in already, since Kurama would train him at home, but that didn't mean that he couldn't negotiate with his leverage.

"No D-rank mission."

"That's not very team-orientated, Ruto-chan."

"Neither is training only two members of a three-man cell." Kakashi thought about retorting that he could train Naruto as well, but the boy didn't need the help. If Kakashi didn't teach Sasuke now, the boy would experiment on his own and either burn himself to a crisp or cause spinal damage with electric pulses; Sakura would be easier to train, thus training them both at the same time would be easier. And the D-rank today was weeding a farmer's garden. Naruto had enough weeding at home.

"Fine," the man pouted. Naruto grinned and tossed a bell at each of his teammates.

"Ah, you don't need to give me a bell, Naruto-kun. You did the work," Sakura said, confused. The blond shrugged a shoulder.

"Don't worry about it. I have Rama-chan teaching me at home; you both rely on him," Naruto jabbed a thumb at the scarecrow. Kakashi didn't miss Sasuke's scrunched up face.

He pouted again.

"And since I'm not used to spending my mornings with a team, I have some errands that I need to run."

Sakura looked reluctant to accept his proposal, but eventually she did. She really needed extra training.

Instead of jogging back towards the village, Naruto gave a jovial wave before a gust of wind wrapped around his body and he disappeared.

"…I'm doing that with fire," Sasuke declared, while facing Kakashi.

_'Not before I learn how to do that with lightning,' _Kakashi swore.

Sakura smiled; that would be pretty cool.

* * *

Naruto's first stop was the Inuzuka pet shop. The Inuzuka compound ran it to supplement the clan's income. They sold the usual pets, dogs, cats, birds, but their main money maker was their pet food. Instead of the generic brands that the other stores sold, the clan created its own special blend of food and treats for various animals. Because they had ninken, their dog treats for shinobi were the highest quality; Hatake Kakashi always bought a bag from their store when he was nearby. Their food for other pets were also superior, but not by the same margin.

Inuzuka Hana manned the stores on Monday mornings. She checked inventory until she smelled a fox. Thinking that it was another baby fox who wandered in through a hole in the side wall, she left the backroom with one of the three Haimaru brothers. The other two slumbered on the crates; she rubbed their noses affectionately.

The scent of fox was by the side wall, again; she'd have to scold Kiba for doing such a bad job patching it up that another baby fox could break in again. Or maybe it was the same, clever little fox.

She rounded the corner and signaled the triplet to scare the fox towards her so that she could scoop up the poor thing and release it back into the forest.

There was a second of silence as she realized that a boy was crouched in front of a rabbit cage, approximately where the fox should be, and the dog by her side was already mid pounce. She called out to him in a panic, but the boy saw the danger coming. He slipped something from his back pocket, _not a kunai, not a kunai, please not a kunai, oh, a scroll,_ and opened it just as the triplet's wet nose touched a single blond hair. The boy instantly leaned back, and Hana watched amazed as her dog disappeared into the scroll.

She took a second to shake herself out of her stupor before running towards the boy.

"I'm so sorry! I smelled a fox, so I brought out one of my dogs to help me catch it, but I didn't expect him to pounce on you!" she blurted out. Then she took a step back and bowed in apology. The boy didn't look like he harbored any ill will, but if he wanted to, he could demand compensation for being attacked by a fellow nin. And even though the Inuzuka clan loved their dogs like family, the laws were very clear that if this boy demanded it, one of her triplets would be executed: rabid dogs were rabid dogs.

The boy chuckled. Hana gave a mental sigh of relief.

"No problem! He scared me, but that was the best training that I've had today," he said the last part a little sardonically. Huh. It must have been a bad Monday morning for him.

"But, um, it might be easier to unseal him outside?" the boy chuckled sheepishly. Hana nodded, not really understanding, and led him towards the back door, which led to a fenced backyard.

The blond nodded, unrolled the scroll, turned it upside down, and ran back to her.

"Uh…"

"Hold on," he interrupted. He raised his right hand to eye level and snapped his fingers.

The seal on the scroll gave off a dim flash before the sealed dog pounced out of the scroll, going the other direction.

"Whew! I was afraid that I faced the scroll wrong," the boy said as he trotted towards his scroll. The dog turned around and charged at the boy again.

"No!" she leapt in front of the boy, teeth bared as she ordered the dog down. He never acted this way before. The dog whined and laid down after she growled again.

The boy looked up at her after stashing his scroll away.

"It's okay, nee-chan, animals don't usually like me." Shino's bugs included.

Her gaze softened.

"That's no excuse for his bad manners. He must have confused you with your pet fox; you must play with it often to have such as strong scent of it on you," she commented. Naruto froze; right, as if anyone could ever refer to Kurama as a pet.

"…yes. That's actually why I'm here. I was hoping to buy the white bunny with the brown tips? My fox is a little lonely…" he cast forlorn glance at the ground.

"Of course! And for our lack of manners I'll even throw in a free bag of our special rabbit food and some treats," she smiled. His face brightened instantly, and he thanked her profusely.

"I think I'm going to name him Momiji," Naruto murmured at the bunny in his arms. He blew on its nose gently and giggled when it sneezed.

"He's perfect! Thank you nee-chan!" Naruto called out as he left the store.

"Come back again!" Hana waved.

* * *

"Hokage-jiji!" Naruto cheered as he burst into the Hokage's office. His secretary, Saotome-san, didn't bother to restrain the boy anymore; it made things surprisingly smooth. If the Hokage was honestly busy, the man said "No," to Naruto and the boy left, unlike the Hokage's previous secretaries would told the boy "No" no matter what. If the Hokage had some time to spare, the man just waved Naruto in.

"Naruto! What are you doing here? Don't tell me Kakashi-kun still hasn't shown up?" If he hadn't, Sarutobi was going to assign nothing higher than C-ranks to the man until he came on time for a month.

Naruto shook his head.

"No. Kakashi-sensei wasn't that late, just an hour, maybe, but he's training the other two right now, so I came to see the Hokage's special library."

Sarutobi's eye twitched.

"Why isn't he training you?" he asked.

"He's working on Sasuke-teme-"

"Language," Sarutobi admonished.

"-and Sakura-chan's affinities. Sasuke-_kun's _affinity is lightning and fire while Sakura-chan's affinity is earth. If Kakashi can bring up their proficiency, we won't be caught off guard with elemental attacks," Naruto explained. And since chakra affinities were usually a jounin or high chuunin endeavor, this gave Team 7 a very necessary advantage.

"I see…" Sarutobi mulled. "That's a good plan." Sarutobi gave an approving puff of smoke.

"Yup, that's what I thought! And I even got out of weed-pulling duty! Dattebayo!" Naruto did a happy dance and the bunny in his arms clung onto an arm.

"Naruto-" Sarutobi warned but Naruto interrupted.

"Don't worry jiji. It won't happen again. I did it because I need to find some medic nin scrolls for Sakura-chan to see if she really wants to be a medic, and I'm nearly done with a stabilizing seal for Kurama. The only issue is that it degrades by itself over time." Naruto opened a scroll and stuck it in Sarutobi's face, who went cross-eyed trying to read it. He sighed.

"Alright. I won't reprimand Kakashi-kun from excluding you this time, but I want to know if this happens again. I know that you were placed on Team 7 because you don't _need _training to become a Chuunin, but that doesn't mean that he can completely neglect you, do you understand?" the Hokage stated firmly. Then he waved Naruto behind him. The Hokage bit his finger and unsealed the entrance to the Hokage Library.

"But why do you have a bunny?" the Hokage asked as Naruto stepped through the entrance.

"Oh! Momiji? I promised to buy Kurama a pet in exchange for not tormenting Kakashi."

"…good," Sarutobi replied as Naruto smiled and disappeared into the aisles. Kurama no doubt recognized Kakashi from the War, just as he recognized Sarutobi. Kurama could easily destroy Kakashi's already fragile psyche with a few choice words and actions.

He wondered if Naruto knew the extent of what his actions prevented.

* * *

The library was AWESOME. Not like awesome, or _awesome_, but AWESOME. Sitting at the lone table, Naruto had a pile of books spread out in a circle around him, and in front of him was Momo-chan (Momiji's cute, new nickname), who busily munched on baby carrots from his bento.

Naruto snacked on a bit of egg as he flipped another page; in his hand was the Shodaime's journal, with detailed accounts of the experiments he conducted with his bloodline, the Mokuton. He outlined its purifying abilities, especially with regards to demon chakra. If Naruto could somehow gain Mokuton, or do something that mimicked it, he'd be able to handle more of Kurama's chakra without any side-effects. Maybe he could create a seal that could mimic the bloodline…

Time for more research.

* * *

Kurama, when he met the ball of fluff called Momiji, became absolutely smitten. He cooed over the animal like a new mother to her baby; it was hilarious to watch, especially for Naruto, who experienced daily beat-downs by Kurama.

"Ne, Kaa-chan~" Naruto teased when he walked past the living room and saw Kurama rubbing his nose with the bunny's.

Kurama ignored the boy and continued cooing. Naruto snapped a discreet picture and saved it for Iruka.

* * *

"I approve of your affinity training, but I request that for Naruto and Sasuke-kun's first spar you request the help of another jounin to oversee it. I have a gut feeling that it'll be… explosive," Sarutobi instructed.

"Asuma would be a good choice," added in after a second of thought. "He has a wind and fire affinity."

Kakashi agreed, even though he felt that there was no need for another jounin, but he wouldn't go against the Hokage's orders, especially on something as small as this.

* * *

"Honey! How was your day?" Haruno Mebuki smiled from behind the shop's counter. Sakura gave a cheerful smile back.

"Not bad. I met my new teammate today; his name's Uzumaki Naruto. He's really strong, but I've never heard of him before today, so it's really odd," Sakura answered, bonelessly slipping into a chair. Her mother stilled behind the counter.

"Did- did you say _Uzumaki Naruto?_" her mother seethed.

Alarmed, Sakura cautiously replied the affirmative.

"That- that-that _demon! _He's back! Let me get your father! Kazashi! _Kazashi!" _her mother bellowed up the stairs.

"Mebuki-chan? What's wrong?" Sakura's father came running down the stairs.

"That _thing-_" her mother cried into her father's arms, "-that _thing _is back! And on the same team as our daughter!" Mebuki wailed.

Kazashi patted his wife's back in an effort to calm her down.

"Now, honey, do you remember what we said years ago?" he entreated, but she turned a stern glare towards him and shouted.

"That was _years _ago! When that _demon _practically vanished! I thought someone finally murdered it after all!" Sakura gasped at her mother's words. Her mother was usually a kind, albeit intense woman, but this side of her mother…

Kazashi spared a sorrowful glance at his only daughter before directing his wife upstairs.

"Now, Mebu-chan. Why don't we discuss this upstairs?" he placated.

"She deserves to know! Our Sakura! She deserves to know what _monster_ she's been forced to work with!"

"Sakura, honey, I know you're tired, but could you please man the store?" her father asked as he struggled to pull his wife along. Shocked, Sakura nodded dumbly.

A door slammed upstairs.

Was her teammate really that bad? He didn't seem to be such a monster when she met him this morning, but a single day wasn't an accurate assessment of a person, and her mother was usually very level-headed, so maybe she knew something that Sakura didn't. And her father was usually very lax anyways… but Naruto-kun was just a teen, like her, there was no way that he was capable of being a _demon_ or a _monster_. Maybe she'd ask around for a well-rounded picture.

* * *

Naruto left the bouquet at the memorial stone after he asked jiji about the third member of Team 7. He prayed that everyone remember Akio as a shinobi, and not as an orphan.

* * *

Dinner at the Namikaze compound was a cheerful affair. Momo was formally accepted as the newest member of the family, and Iruka and Kurama alternated cuddling the creature who thumped his feet happily every time they scratched behind his ears.

Naruto rolled his eyes and gave the bunny a light pat on the head before he joined Shino in the front gardens. Apparently Shino's teammate, Hyuuga Hinata has an extensive knowledge of herbs since she made a variety of medicines and creams. It turned out that just that morning she pulled out a salve for Inuzuka Kiba, who sustained a rather nasty gash on his leg, and Shino recognized the herb sticking out as an unnamed plant in Naruto's garden. When the boy visited the compound, he told Kurama, who hadn't decided if he should let the Hyuuga into the compound to help classify the plants.

Naruto, however, was all for it and told Shino that he could invite the girl over tomorrow. If the herbs were useful to her, then all the better; Naruto hated seeing them wasted.

In preparation for a guest tomorrow, the two genin hacked away at the overgrown brush that was a twig away from invading the herb plot. Half of the berry bush needed to be chopped off, so the boys collected them into a basket so that they could make a jam with it later.

"So, Shino, how's your training going?" Naruto asked conversationally as he swept away the clippings.

"Good. My colony has grown by three bugs; it does not sound a lot, but at this rate, my colony will be 10% larger by the end of the month."

"Oh! That's good." Keeping up a conversation with the quiet boy was sometimes a trial.

"It is largely thanks to your kindness," Shino said after several minutes of silent work.

"No need to thank me," Naruto smiled. "It was thanks to your bugs that we caught the diseased plant before it spread its sickness, after all."

Shino inclined his head.

"I am surprised that you do not have a seal that prevents that." Shino soundly genuinely curious, even though the only indication was the centimeter more of face that appeared above his collar.

Naruto chuckled.

"There's only so much that fuuinjutsu can do, Shino-kun, and I'm not a master yet. But we still need to spar! I swear that I won't use my wind affinity! Seals all the way!" the blond cheered, arms in the air.

Shino smiled. It wasn't that he needed the 'handicap,' but a swirling vortex made it hard for his kikaichu to fly.

Once they cleared the left side of the front garden, they trudged over to the vegetable garden.

"Are you sure that you don't want to stay for dinner?" Naruto asked as he inspected some eggplants.

"Thank you for your offer, Naruto-kun, but my mother returned from a mission this morning," Shino explained.

"Hm… these carrots are pretty good." Naruto offered them to Shino who declined, saying that the new bunny would enjoy them more than his family; he said, however, that he would not decline a couple of tomatoes. Naruto laughed and sealed some up for him.

For dinner, since Kurama, who was intent on making Momo feel at home, made salads. The bunny even had his own place at the table.

* * *

Naruto left the compound with a beautiful bento and a draft of Kurama's new stabilizing seals, which they tested that morning. It turned out that the more stable the body, the longer Kurama's hair. Whereas it was originally rather short, barely falling past the ears, Kurama's crimson hair now fell slightly past his ears, long enough that he tied it up with a piece of string.

Hopefully they'd be able to make improvements and finalize the seal by the end of the week so that Kurama could wash off the ink that was currently on his back and replace it with permanent ink. Which he still needed to pick up at the store. Along with groceries, since the Hyuuga heiress was visiting that evening and Kurama wanted to experiment with some exotic new spices from Tea Country that just arrived. (Shino mentioned it when he popped by that morning,)

"Sakura-chan! Sasuke-teme! I came bearing gifts!" Naruto called out happily. He handed a scroll to both of them.

Sakura opened hers and found beginner medic scrolls. She thanked Naruto with a quick bow before cracking one open.

Seeing that Sakura's was helpful, Sasuke opened his. He received a fire extinguisher.

Naruto snickered.

"Dobe…" Sasuke ground out. Sakura wasnted to call him a baka, but felt it unfair since the other boy did bring her medic nin books.

"It's so that you don't burn yourself," Naruto crowed. "Take a joke, Uchiha!"

"Why don't we spar and I'll show you who'll be burned," Sasuke smirked. Naruto was slightly surprised to see the lack of malice in the challenge. Sasuke's stare was firm, assessing. Naruto stared straight back, unintimidated.

"Wind is weak against fire, dobe."

"Usually," Naruto wagged a finger, "but my affinity strength is higher than yours."

"Then may the best affinity win." Another quirk of the lips.

"Deal."

"Aw! My cute genin are getting along!"

"YOU'RE LATE!"

"Maa~ I met a hurt bee on my way here so I nursed it back to health before carrying it back to its grateful hive."

"Sensei, aren't you allergic to bees?" Naruto remembered reading something like that in Kakashi's file.

"…Ah… I forgot. _Anyways, _mission time! Painting fences!" the one-eyed jounin ushered his genin towards their destination.

* * *

Team 10 watched Team 7 trudge towards them covered in paint. Asuma trained his team that morning in preparation for overseeing Team 7's spar in the afternoon, but was too distracted to do much, so they ending up practicing chakra control.

Kakashi found him early that morning and said that he had orders from the Hokage to oversee two of Kakashi's genin spar, which sounded ludicrous, but Kakashi wouldn't make up orders. So Asuma told his team that since Team 7 had a new member that needed to be evaluated immediately, Kakashi asked for a second opinion because the boy was a wind affinity. Shikamaru accepted because that meant that Team 10 didn't have a mission that afternoon. Chouji accepted because Shikamaru did, but Ino fussed, saying that she couldn't let Sakura get ahead of her.

Asuma had a brief moment where he wished that Uzumaki Naruto was on Team 10 instead, because _wind affinity_, but reminded himself that the boy was only a genin because another genin _died_. Sometimes he hated his genin, but never _that _much. Well, unless they made jibes about him and Kurenai again.

Kakashi's shock of silver hair was a secondary beacon to the bright orange book in his hand. Next to the man was the only girl on the team, nose buried in a scroll, a surreal copy of her sensei. Next to her were two boys exchanging insults.

"Billboard! Sasuke-kun!" Ino waved at the two before settling on the third, "Naruto-kun?"

The blond looked up.

"Oh! Ino-chan! I didn't know that you were a shinobi!" he smiled.

"You didn't tell me you were one either!" she replied. "How are your hydrangeas?"

"Spilling onto the porch. Rama-chan kicks them every time he leaves the house," Naruto admitted.

Ino tutted and turned towards Sakura.

"And you! You didn't tell me that you knew Naruto!"

"I didn't know that Naruto, my teammate, was the same as Naruto the gardener!" Sakura gaped.

"How many Fishcakes do you know?" Ino questioned. Both Kakashi and Asuma snorted back their laughter.

"Oi! I asked jiji! My name means '_Maelstrom!'_" Naruto countered.

"Well, you told me 'Fishcake!'" Ino placed her hands akimbo.

"I wasn't' sure!" Naruto wailed. Beside him, Sasuke smirked so widely that he almost broke into a grin.

Sakura smiled at the knowledge that her friend knew Naruto. Ino's dad worked in Intelligence and taught his daughter how to analyze and understand people. If Ino liked him, there was no way that Naruto could be as bad as her mother said, right? She must have confused this Naruto with someone else. But…Ino was still a genin, maybe Naruto duped her?

"Ahem," Asuma cleared his throat. The genin looked towards him. "Introductions?"

Kakashi squished his genin together inside of a loose hug. He beamed as their darkened faces threatened _pain_.

"Ah, so these are my three cute genin, Suke-chan, Kura-chan, and Ruto-chan," Kakashi happily introduced. The aforementioned genin leaked killing intent.

Asume sighed. It seemed that Kakashi never lost his bad habit of ticking off everyone in the vicinity for fun.

Team 10 glared at their instructor as a cohesive unit; Asuma sighed and let his genin introduce themselves.

"Yamanaka Ino."

"…troublesome… Nara Shikamaru."

"Akimichi Chouji." Munch.

"Sarutobi Asuma."

"Oi! Are you the old man's son?" Naruto peered at up. Asuma's cigarette almost fell out of his mouth.

"Er… by 'old man' do you mean the Hokage?" he asked cautiously. Sakura and Ino looked scandalized.

"Of course! What other 'old man' do you think I was referring to? Jiji's like, the oldest man ever!" Naruto snapped his fingers to emphasize his point.

Kakashi restrained the urge to smack himself on the forehead.

"Naruto-baka! You can't say things like that! It's- it's _treasonous_! What if he heard?" Sakura exclaimed. Naruto blinked.

"What do you mean? I call him that all the time!"

"Baka! What if someone told him that you called him by something so disrespectful!"

"... but I call him that all the time." Naruto still looked confused.

"Sakura, I think what Naruto's trying to say is-" Sakura cut Kakashi off.

"It's disrespectful," she said firmly.

Naruto hung his head sadly.

"Really? He's never complained before…"

Silence.

"You- you call him that to his face?" Ino peeped up. Kakashi sighed.

"Well, yeah."

"…troublesome," Shikamaru mumbled off to the side. There was more silence.

"Naruto. I'm sure that the Hokage doesn't mind that you call him 'old man,'" Kakashi tried cheering up his newest genin. The boy blinked hopefully at him.

"Really?"

"..yes. Why don't you ask him today?" Kakashi advised.

"Okay!" Naruto's smiled.

"… and yeah. I'm his son." What else could Asuma say to that?

"Sooooo, because Naruto's wind affinity has never been used in battle," Kakashi directed, "I've invited Asuma, who is the only other wind specialist in Konoha, to help analyze it. Naruto grew stars in his eyes and tried to enthusiastically chat with Asuma, but Kakashi pushed him and Sasuke away from the group.

"_Wind affinity!" _Naruto crowed as he bounced excitedly towards the clearing.

Sasuke rolled his eyes at his teammate, then smirked in preparation for a good spar.

"Sasuke and Naruto will spar until one of them wins, or twenty minutes have passed. Nothing deadly," Asuma instructed. Team 10 and Sakura shuffled behind him.

"Ready?" Asuma called out. Both boys nodded.

"Then begin!"

"**Fire Release: Meteor Shower!**" Sasuke shot hundreds of fire bullets at Naruto, who leapt back and stuck out his right hand. Asuma felt it, the wind currents circulating the boy's hand. His father told him that Naruto was most efficient when he had time to saturate the atmosphere, but Team 7 had been at the site for less than five minutes. The boy wouldn't be able to fight at full strength, but this situation was more akin to actual combat.

"Begone," the blond said as he swiped his arm from left to right, as if he was pulling an opened curtain closed. What started as a small breeze picked up power as the arm moved and by the time the arm was on the boy's left, the spectators saw that most of the flames were extinguished. A couple fizzled out on the ground harmlessly.

Sasuke charged forward, punches flying. He caught Naruto in the jaw several times, but the blond didn't react. Naruto dropped manipulated his center of gravity so that none of Sasuke's punches forced him back.

Naruto was a brawler. He lacked Sasuke's finesse and confidence in taijutsu, but made up for it in unpredictability. Asuma knew as soon as Naruto kicked Sasuke's back (an interesting move where Sasuke's punch was evaded by Naruto when the boy grabbed the arm, and pulled Sasuke forward as the blond jumped behind him and landed a potentially paralyzing blow to the back if he aimed for the spine instead of beside it) that Naruto wasn't taught by a priest. At least, not a convention one.

Naruto's instructor taught destruction, not taijutsu, and not for the first time since his father took up the mantle of Hokage, Asuma wondered if his father knew what he was doing.

A barrage of kunai and shuriken launched from Sasuke's hands towards Naruto's head. A flick of the hand re-directed the weapons.

Naruto used wind like shinobi used their limbs. He knew where and when the wind was; he didn't hesitate for a second. Most shinobi didn't have complete confidence in their affinity; it was hard to control unruly fire or bipolar water; it was why they relied on jutsus to regulate their chakra correctly. Even though the boy hadn't had time to charge the atmosphere, he controlled the winds that were close to his body like second nature.

The boy didn't use weapons; he relied on his affinity. His reliance wasn't a handicap, not like in most cases, because air was everywhere, but Asuma figured that if the boy learned how to combine weapons with wind chakra like Asuma did, he'd be infinitely stronger, but the boy wouldn't use chakra blades like he did; he'd probably use something less obtrusive.

"**Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire!"** Sasuke flashed through the hand seals and Asuma felt oxygen being sucked into the technique. The blond stood his ground and grinned.

"**Kage no Bushin!**" the blond cried as a dozen Narutos appeared around a preparing Sasuke. Realistically, Naruto should have incapacitated Sasuke since the boy was obviously still new to the technique; he took too long. From the corner of his eyes, Asuma saw Kakashi push up his hitaiate to reveal his Sharingan. It seemed that those really were shadow clones; it was astounding that a genin could make so many.

"I'm going to snuff you out like a candle!" Naruto cheered. All of the Narutos wrote '_kaze'_ in the air with their chakra. Winds from every direction curled about the characters until the winds were shadow clones popped, leaving the original in the battlefield with thirteen whirlwinds. He clapped his hands and all the tornadoes headed towards Sasuke, who release his fire dragon.

Asuma's instincts screamed at him because A) wind was weak against fire and B) that was a big fucking fireball and a big fucking tornado.

They combined.

All of Team 7 and Team 10 craned their necks to look up at the Kyuubi-esque fire tornado in front of them, the likes of which had never been seen, but looked like something that only a demon could conjure.

The tornado, easily seen as a column of fire to the heavens, stayed still for a moment before slowly moving towards Sasuke, who lost his smirk at the sight.

"Um…I think I win the affinity match, Sasuke-teme," Naruto chuckled nervously. He was a little stunned at the sight.

Behind Asuma, the genins' faces' paled.

"…Maa… I guess this is why Hokage-sama ordered me to have another jounin with me…" Kakashi flashed Asuma a masked grin.

"So, what should we do, only other person in Konoha with a wind affinity?" the Copy Cat nin continued.

Some days… days like this… Asuma wished that he was still with the Twelve Guardians.

"Sarutobi-san. Hatake-san." A group of Anbu appeared behind the jounin. Asuma dropped his cigarette and snubbed in out with his shoe.

"Tell the other shinobi and Anbu to stay away from this area until _that_-" Asuma nodded towards the fire-nado, "-has been neutralized." The Anbu had a moment's hesitation before they bowed their heads in acceptance.

Asuma pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Naruto-kun! Can you dispel this?" Asuma certainly hoped so.

"Don't think so! Rama-chan usually deals with catastrophes like this." The boy gave an apologetic quirk of his lips.

"…o-kay. So, is there any chance that 'Rama-chan' could get his ass in gear and help us, kid?"

"Nope," Naruto replied cheerfully. Asuma pierced Kakashi with a glare. The man had the gall to shrug and herd the genin and especially Sasuke away from the slowly progressing fire-nado. Asuma snagged the edge of the avenger's sleeve.

"Kid. Time to take responsibility," Asume watch Sasuke nervously sweat. "I technically have a fire affinity too, even though I use my wind affinity more often. I'm going to instruct and help you control the fans while instructing Naruto-kun on how to slow the fire-nado down, alright?"

Sasuke gave a quick nod.

"Naruto!" the boy came trotting over, "I need to you try to create a vortex around the fire-nado so that it can't access any oxygen; that should help with the flames. Sasuke here will try to concentrate the flames into the center so that you'll have a smaller area to confine." Both boys nodded.

"I'm going try and dismantle the damn thing by taking slivers of wind one by one."

This was _not _Asuma's day.

* * *

"-and then there was a giant column of flame!" Naruto gestured as he described his day to Iruka.

Big-head no Jutsu.

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? DIDN'T YOU LEARN THAT WIND IS INHERENTLY WEAK TOWARDS FIRE? OF COURSE YOU DID! I TAUGHT YOU THAT!"

"Hey! But the tornado was going towards him! That's a win for me!"

"YOU COULDN'T CONTROL IT! IT COULD HAVE WIPED OUT THE ENTIRE VILLAGE!"

Sometimes, for approximately a minute every year, Iruka wished that Naruto really was the Kyuubi because that way when Naruto destroyed Konoha, it would be predictable. As it was, Konoha could be destroyed by something as mundane as Naruto sneezing or pulling a prank.

* * *

_'He needs to be taught control. Imagine if that boy could control his and the Kyuubi's power,'_ Danzo thought to himself after his _Ne _reported back to him.

All that raw power.

* * *

Sasuke lay in an undignified heap on his couch, exhausted. He gave a small to himself in the privacy of his home.

If his new teammate gained that power in the village, he could too. Maybe he should find this 'Rama-chan' that taught Naruto; whoever it was would be a great help in his quest to destroy _that man_.

* * *

"I wouldn't buy that if I were you, Naruto-kun." Naruto reeled back from the bag of vegetables that the vendor almost gave him. He'd been lost in thought after escaping Iruka's rant when the man was interrupted by some students with questions.

"Shino!" the blond cheered.

"My bugs say that there are rotten fruit at the bottom of the bag."

Naruto spared the vendor a nasty glare before herding Shino away. The vendor scowled, but didn't risk making a move against the Aburame heir.

"Thanks! It's been such a long time since I had to buy food for them that I forgot to check," Naruto laughed, but Shino's kikaichu sensed the drop in serotonin levels.

"So, where's this herb specialist? Are you going to pick her up?" Naruto asked curiously while maneuvering Shino towards another stand. The vendor handed over the desired produce without an incident, especially when Shino leveled him with an unblinking, sunglass-covered gaze.

"I'm meeting her at one of the weapons shops. Ah. She just finished." Shino headed down the street. Naruto followed.

A nervous girl greeted them with a blush and a bow.

"Hiya, Hinata-chan!" Naruto smiled after she introduced herself. "Shino told me that you're an expert on herbs?"

"Ano...I-I-I'm not-"

"She is," Shino interrupted. It was rare for him to be so rude, but the girl never seemed to give herself credit when it was due.

"I br-brought my book with m-me," she replied. Naruto smiled encouragingly.

"Okay! Now, are you allergic to anything? My mentor wants to make some snacks for us, so I need to know if there's something you can't or don't like to eat."

"A-Ah, there's nothing."

"Ok! So, how do you know about herbs?" Naruto asked curiously. Hinata, excited about explaining her salves to someone, almost lost her stutter. Shino reminded himself to ask Kurama-san if Hinata could be granted the same allowance into the household like him; no doubt the crafty man would agree since Hinata was the Hyuuga heiress.

Maybe if he told the girl about his difficulty in tracking any information about the man, she would help. Team 8 was training to be a tracking team; if they couldn't scrounge up some information about a lone man in their own village, how were they going to complete missions?

"-and mixing the two at high temperatures is poisonous, so you have the simmer them," she concluded as Naruto waved towards the compound. Naruto let her in.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. Shino wondered if he looked that wonderstruck when he first saw the garden. Maybe less so since he'd been _attacked by a vine_. To this day, he and Yukka didn't get along.

"Welcome." As usual, Kurama-san was dressed in his priest robes, looking as regal as a Clan Head. Shino recognized the glint of cunning his eyes before the man greeted Hinata specifically. Naruto dropped a light hand on his shoulder.

"I know-" he whispered. "-that Kurama likes to play these games, but he means no harm." The blond gave him an apologetic smile before curbing Hinata towards the herbs. When the duo's attention focused on the garden, Shino looked up to see Kurama smirk at him.

Shino's bug buzzed around him anxiously and as the man turned Shino felt as if saw that cat that caught the canary. But Kurama was something wilder, crafty… like a fox.

His bugs agreed.

"Oi! Shino!" Naruto beckoned him over. Uneasily, Shino approached and thanked Kami that Naruto wouldn't let anything happen to them… knowingly.

Hinata busily stuck little flags in the ground with the plant name and drew symbols that stated if the given plant was edible, medically useful, poisonous, or other (still hazardous). She told Naruto all of the plant's formal names, and Naruto told her all of his nicknames for them. Together, they categorized an entire section of herbs, stopping only when Kurama brought out fried vegetable buns.

Kurama jotted down in a notebook all of the names and properties of the herbs. The medical herbs Hinata could take, he said. Apparently he didn't want any formerly extinct poisons to re-enter the world, but Shino was positive that Kurama just didn't want anyone to have immunity.

As much as Shino trusted Naruto, he distrusted Kurama by the same margin.

When Shino and Hinata parted, Kurama gave each of them a small basket full of baked goods. Hinata thanked him so hard that she sputtered. Used to the man's fondness of cooking, Shino graciously accepted.

When he returned home, he found a note hidden in the bottom of the basket. It said: _'Don't cause trouble.' _

Shino glared at the threat. Fine. He wouldn't ask his father about the man, _yet_; he'd ask Naruto straight up.

* * *

_'That can't be right…' _Sakura mused. After Kakashi whisked her and Team 10 away from the tornado, he dismissed them for the day. From there, she confided in Ino about her mother's accusations and together the girls set out to question the villagers.

None of them had anything good to say.

The meanest comments were downright terrifying,

The 'nicest' were apathetic at best. The duo saw that every time a shopkeeper looked like he was about to say something less inflammatory, the shopkeepers around him glared and the man or woman clammed up.

Ino promised to ask her father about Naruto. She looked as shaken as Sakura was.

_What had the boy done? _

The villagers' eyes held more contempt than justified for a pranking boy.

_Just what was Uzumaki Naruto?_

Sakura, for the first time in her life, prayed that her mother was wrong.

* * *

When Naruto invited Team 7 over for dinner at his mentor's insistence, Sakura readily agreed because what better way to observe a potential enemy than in its home? She jotted down the address for her mother (who demanded that Sakura return before 10, or she would go looking for her) and felt safer knowing that her parents knew exactly where she was. It was a little superfluous, since Kakashi agreed to come as well… after extracting a promise for eggplant to be on the menu, and Sakura trusted the jounin to not let her die.

Sasuke also agreed because he wanted to meet the mentor, 'Rama-chan,' and as much as he'd loathed to admit it, it'd be nice to not eat alone for once.

As a unit, Team 7 entered the Namikaze compound.

She didn't know what she expected, but it wasn't for Naruto to adjust wards around her and seeing a jungle emerge in front of her eyes. Even Sasuke-kun blinked rapidly.

But she experienced genjutsus before, thanks to Kakashi-sensei, so although was surprised, it wasn't really that shocking. Shinobi did more miraculous things than random jungles.

What did shock her, however, was seeing the Hyuuga heiress and Aburame heir squatting in the dirt discussing the plant in-between them. Her apprehensions whittled away. Maybe the civilians misunderstood Naruto? Shinobi were trained to look underneath masks, so if two heirs, who were warier than other shinobi their age and who were taught to trust no one outside of the clan, liked Naruto enough to congregate at his house, then maybe he wasn't so bad.

It was hard for civilians to understand shinobi affairs, after all. Sakura knew that first hand; her parents still thought of her as 'playing ninja.'

* * *

Dinner was absolutely delicious.

Sakura had thirds even though she kept reminding herself that she was on a diet.

Hinata ate this mooncake pie thing with her hands.

Shino gave a small burp at the end of dinner.

Kakashi put a genjutsu around every one at the table so that they couldn't see him gorge himself without his mask.

Naruto belched.

Sasuke smiled at the home-cooking.

Kurama gave a self-satsified smirk and boxed up some for Iruka to have for lunch since the man was still at the Academy grading papers.

Altogether, it was a wonderful evening.

* * *

Unfortunately, there was no such thing as a peaceful day in the life of Uzumaki Naruto and his tenant.

A mob formed that night, fueled by Haruno Mebuki's outrage at her precious daughter being 'corrupted by that demon,' the girls' innocent questioning from several days before (which convinced some villagers who weren't sure if they could trust Mebuki's hysterical words that the demon was back that _the demon was back_), and _Ne_'s gentle nudge. A group of ten villagers, mostly drunks, but not all, and two undercover _Ne _operatives banded together some time in the very early morning and late night, when the cover of dark still prevailed. They crept up to the house with the address that Sakura jotted down.

The mob was at the compound's walls, inching closer with every breath. The _Ne _operatives within the mob sensed the seals that altered their perceptions and remained in the back of the pack.

Unseen to all twelve was a man on the roof, hidden from their gaze by a mirage created from manipulating the water molecules in the air, Kurama perched on the roof, analyzing their every move. Unbeknownst to the mob, who planned on killing/scaring/capturing the boy tonight, Kurama briefly released the blood seal on the doorway so that they could enter, though he kept the illusion one so that they couldn't see the garden for the jungle that it was.

Momo sat by his side. Kurama planned on training the bunny to sense the seals that confined _Ne _agents to secrecy. For now, though, Kurama drew a seal underneath both his eyes that gave him the ability to see chakra. The downside was that it had a 50% rate of blindness and that the user couldn't see physical forms, just chakra pathways. So if a civilian charged at him with a knife, Kurama couldn't see it. That didn't make him vulnerable; it just made things irritating. But being a clone with full confidence that Naruto could create him another, better body, Kurama didn't have anything to lose.

He canceled out the seals under his eyes and watched the _Ne_ agents through normal eyes.

Mebuki urged them forward. She assured them repeatedly that this was the demon's house and with such conviction that they believed and followed her.

They were right; this was the demon's house.

Seeing no guards or protections, the mob smirked. The drunks threw their half-empty bottles over the wall just as the sober ones threw lit matches over as well. This would be a surprise attack, an _accident. _

Kurama saw and snuffed out the flames and saw that Yukka and the others wrapped around the bottles so that they were upright.

The mob waited in glee for several moments before they realized that no grand wildfire was coming.

Mebuki pushed one of the drunkards towards the doorway to check in on the flames. He stumbled and glanced fearfully back, but the rest of the mob shooed him in. He took a hesitant step forward, then two, three, and stood in the empty walkway. To him, there was nothing but grass. He waved the others gleefully in.

Seeing the other man waving enthusiastically, the rest followed. If they were inside, they could do even _more _damage. The _Ne _operatives went forward, intent on reporting the inside of the compound to Danzo.

When the second _Ne _agent was through the door, Kurama tore down the illusion and blocked the entrance to the compound once again.

Outside, six villagers pounded on the invisible barrier, panicked, screamed, and no longer feared of being caught. Kurama activated a suggestion genjutsu on the house that made it harder to notice. If the person knew that it was there, then they could see it, but otherwise it'll just be a shadow in the order of their eyes.

Two shinobi answered the other six's cries, but they smelled the liquor on their clothes from the thrown bottles and rolled their eyes are the seemingly drunk civilians who swore that they weren't drunk. Typical.

Inside, four villagers and two shinobi panicked. The villagers, Mebuki included, shrieked and ran towards the house. Also panicked (though not showing it), the _Ne _members broke their cover as civilians and leapt towards the wall, but ran into an invisible barrier. They tried to shushin out.

Kurama, who expected this, grinned maliciously.

Kiko, his favorite red cedar, snapped her sturdy branches around the pair's waists and necks as she lifted them off the ground. Kurama had been specially feeding extra chakra from his body to hers, and as a result, she was slightly more sentient than the others. When he pushed the feeling of '_capture' _instead of '_kill_,' she responded. The vine around her trunk stuffed their mouths full of his leaves so that they couldn't speak.

With those two incapacitated, he turned towards the civilians, who created a racket as they tried to break into the actual house. Namikaze Minato may have kept the outside rooms only for entertainment reasons, but that didn't mean that he didn't seal them against damage. Or sabotage.

Kurama chuckled when a particularly rowdy civilian tried to break through a window. In retaliation, the seals on the house flared and gave the man a nice electrocution. His fellow villager rushed to help the man back up, and in their haste they missed a gleeful Akashi snaking towards them. The bipolar poison ivy wrapped itself tightly around their necks. Their legs flailed as they struggled.

Kurama winced as the vine cut them and proceeded to slide his leaves into those cuts.

Mebuki screamed bloody murder.

"You demon! I know you're there! Show yourself!"

Kurama hooked an arm under Momo and leapt down. It took the frantic woman a second to register him.

"You-you're not-" she looked puzzled.

"-the boy?" he finished smoothly. He set Momo down, but instead of hopping away, the bunny stayed next to him. He gave an approving click of his tongue.

"-y-y-e-s-s-" she stuttered. Had she gotten the wrong house? Was this actually the home of a shinobi? An Anbu member? Did the demon trick her daughter into writing the wrong address, somehow?

"A-Ah, we're sorry for intruding, good sir, but, ah, we, we thought that this was the _demon's house_," she spat out the last part.

Kurama hummed.

"I see. That's understandable," he replied. Mebuki thanked him profusely and thanked Kami that no one was dead, only detained.

"So very sorry," she continued, her cool and her voice returning to her. "We'll pay for any damages..."

Kurama nodded and motioned her towards the house.

"Thank you. Now, I see that you have wounded that need to be tended. I have supplies inside."

Mebuki gave him a suspicious glance before agreeing. The man could have killed them already, but hadn't yet.

"Thank you very much… shisho-sama," she said as she caught the sight of the man's robes in the moonlight. Oh Kami, they almost burned a priest in his house!

The man headed towards the two men being strangled by the ivy. She, hoping to redeem herself, trotted beside the man in order to help.

"Ah, shisho-sama, you have a strange ability with plants…" she commented as she watched the ivy unwound itself at the man's stern command. He propped the electrocuted man on his shoulder, and she held onto the other.

"Yes, my plants are rather…protective of me. Do you know of _Mokuton?_"

"T-t-the First Hokage's bloodline ability?!" Every citizen, civilians included knew about Konoha's founding.

"Haha, yes, that ability. I have it," the man said with a shrug as they reached the front door. She gasped.

"But only the Senju have it!" she cried. He looked at her and blinked.

"Yes. How did you know my clan's name?"

She stood in the walkway, stunned. Kami must have been watching over her! She had almost killed a man who was a priest _and _a _Senju! _

So stunned, she missed the look of satisfaction in the man's eyes. Kurama chuckled to himself; the Senju name still held so much influence even though they had dwindled down to next to nothing.

He didn't miss the widened eyes of the two _Ne _members. Even though Danzo trained them to be emotionless killers, the newest recruits, the ones assigned to pretend to be civilians, let flickers of emotion pass through their faces. It made their act more believable, to the point that they forgot some of their training (humans were naturally such emotional creatures, after all).

What juicy information they had to tell their master! If only they hadn't been captured.

Kurama called out to a cowering, uninjured man who hid behind a bush. Seeing safety, he rushed forward.

Kurama, two injured villagers, Haruno Mebuki, and an injured man entered the house, where their gracious host led them into an elegant living room. The man disappeared for several minutes and returned with a first aid kit. He handed it to Mebuki, who immediately began to disinfect their wounds.

Kurama went towards a side table and opened the drawer. He pulled out dark purple incense sticks, placed them in a holder, and lit them.

The scent of lilacs and lavender wafted through the room.

"I find the scent soothing," Kurama explained as he straightened one of the men so that he was more comfortable.

"That was very thoughtful of you, thank you," Mebuki assessed. The man shrugged.

"Please sit, ma'am. You must be exhausted. Let me wrap their injuries." He helped her up and with a hand on her back, directed the woman towards the couch.

After the adrenaline dissipated, she felt boneless. She sank into the couch and tried to murmur an apology. The priest laughed and smirked at her with red eyes.

…_what? _

She blinked rapidly, as if she could clear her hallucination away. Staring at her were piercing red eyes instead of the warm golden glow that she saw a minute ago. Across the man's face was a cruel, demented smile. She struggled to sit up, but her body didn't respond.

"Let me tell you something, _my dear_. You indeed came to the right house. I am, after all, the _demon you've been looking for,_" he laughed inched from her face, his elongated canines grazing his bottom lip. Horrified, she watched as two fox ears protruded from his-_its_ head. She heard the _'whoosh' _of tails whipping around.

She struggled to scream. Struggled struggled struggled.

The demon gave her a pityingly pat on the hand before he headed back towards the incense.

'_They must have been poisoned…'_ was her last coherent thought as she blearily saw him blow out the sticks.

In the sealed room, Kurama's incense worked marvelously. He made it himself, a mixture of traditionally soothing herbs, a paralytic, and a sleep-inducing plant. After inhaling that much of it, the villagers would sleep for days in a coma-like state. Depending on the dose, Kurama could make their bodies imitate death.

He opened the living room window so that the room would air out; it wouldn't do for Naruto to smell it and become suspicious. It wouldn't affect the boy even if he did inhale it, since Kurama had been building up the boy's immunity for years. But suspicion was a hard thing to shake.

It made things interesting though, which was why Kurama let Shino keep his suspicions.

Kurama sealed the two injured bodies into one seal, Mebuki in a second after he took a vial of her blood, and the unharmed man in a third. He tucked the miniaturized scrolls into hidden storage seals in his sleeves. Those were the main reason he decided to wear the robes when he first found them. It was also a great irony.

Momo dutifully greeted him at the door when Kurama went back outside. The two _Ne _members were barely conscious, what with Kiko alternatingly tightening and releasing her hold on their necks; she really was his favorite.

Two taps to the pressure points on their neck ensured that they would be knocked out for at worst, several weeks. That was enough time for Kurama to find a… suitable location for them.

He dumped the two injured men out of their scroll and sealed the shinobi there instead.

"Bon appetit," he grinned as he watched Akashi slice through the men's skin with vigor, red welts and cuts appearing while poisonous leaves dipped into those cuts.

It was fitting that the silent plants that hid in the shadows, near the roots of the beautiful, brightly colored plants, came alive to partake in the feast. These smaller plants were so close to the ground, some sprawled across the soil in a thick mesh, that they absorbed more of Kyuubi's chakra than the others. Having their roots so close to the surface, they felt the full, poisonous brunt of demonic chakra, more so than their deep-rooted brethren, who devoured more filtered chakra. And these were the plants that were not comforted by Naruto's constant presence, or by the protective power of the reflection seals. These were the flowers in the dark corners of the compound, whom ate greedily, and shrank from the sunlight.

Mokuton may have been able to suppress him in a battle, but these flowers fed off his poisonous chakra for years; their systems couldn't handle it. Perhaps in several generations they would develop a way to filter it better, but as of now, that poison disrupted their cells like a disease, mutating them into monsters.

Kurama watched in satisfaction as the shadow plants came alive, twining around limbs and sucking blood dry. Within an hour, only dried husks of men remained. This, Kurama burned to a crisp with his foxfire, relieved when a weak smell permeated the air. With the blood gone, the meat didn't smell as putrid as it usually would.

By morning, the wind would have scattered the smell.

Kurama opened the scroll with the uninjured man, tipped the vial of Mebuki's blood mixed with a drug down his throat, and kicked him out of the compound. Outside, none of the other six villagers remained; escorted and put to bed by patrolling shinobi.

The man ambled home slowly, dragging his feet like a tired party-er. Patrols ignored him and his dazed expression.

One of the other six, Miren, and a neighbor of the lone survivor, met the delusional man as the man tried to enter his house. The neighbor rushed over to his side and immediately interrogated the man, who only babbled.

What the neighbor understood however, chilled him.

The wrong house. They tried to burn down the _wrong house._ Miren thanked Kami that they never succeeded in burning down the house.

But why didn't the house burn? Why couldn't he enter after them?

_'An-bu,' _the man giggled, eyes rolling around in his head.

"Tachibana, Tachibana, what happened to the others?" Miren shook the man's shoulders, but the man blubbered and laughed and wailed.

'_-ad, dead, dead, dead, dead, dead, dea' _came the mantra. Miren bit his lips and fished Tachibana's keys from his pockets. They entered the empty house and from there Miren contacted the other five. Slumped beside Miren, the shaken man heard Tachibana's rants clearly.

Wrong house.

Wrong house.

_Anbu's _house.

Wrong house.

Plants.

Wrong house.

Anbu's house.

Senju.

Miren choked and dropped the phone. He proceeded to shake the man's shoulders and asked him to clarify.

Senju?

Senju.

Kami Kami Kami Kami Kami Kami.

Kami couldn't save them if this was true.

Not just a wrong house. An Anbu's house. A Senju's house.

Dead. Dead. Dead. Everyone but Tachibana was dead.

Miren glanced at the mess next to him; Tachibana was as good as dead.

The six sane ones swore to never tell of what they attempted that night. Burning down the demon's home was one thing; burning down an elite's was another. If the villagers heard that they tried to kill the demon, the majority would have covered for them, swearing up and down that the six had been playing poker with them at the time of the attack, but if they heard that the six tried to kill an Anbu… they would truss them up and send them straight to the Hokage. If they heard about the Senju factor, regardless if it was true, they would be lynched on sight.

* * *

Haruno Kazashi arrived at the police station and filed a 'missing persons' report after he woke up around five in the morning and realized that she was missing and that her side of the bed had been cold for a while.

He waited until eight, when he bade goodbye to his daughter, who was running late. He waited until noon came and went, and still she didn't return. He ask the other villagers, but they hadn't seen her either.

He had a… sick feeling that his daughter's teammate could be involved. Maybe his wife visited the boy after Kazashi passed out from exhaustion and confronted the boy for 'corrupting?' their daughter. Maybe, since she hadn't return, he really was a demon.

Or maybe he'd been defending himself, but then he should have told the Hokage, and Kazashi would have been contacted.

Was it… unrelated?

No. If Mebuki had any errands to run, she would have done them in the morning and left a note, not seek out in the dead of night.

Was she kidnapped? Possibly, but Kazashi remembered the glint in his wife's eyes that he purposely ignored and knew that she was going to confront the boy, and soon; he'd have to watch her closely.

But he didn't want to assume; the boy might be completely innocent. He couldn't… Kazashi couldn't… he couldn't suspect the boy just because it was easy; there were no concrete facts.

From the station, Kazashi chatted with friends and close friends, subtly inquiring about his wife. No one saw her.

Maybe Ryo or Tachibana knew something? Out of all the 'demon-haters' in the village, those two were some of the most vocal. Perhaps she snuck out to discuss ways to… incapacitate… the boy.

Ryo wasn't at home, but Kazashi didn't expect the man to be there; Ryo was probably still in the fields, harvesting.

Kazashi knocked on Tachibana's door, waited a moment, and then heard the man wail. He took a step back and kicked the door open.

"Tachibana!" he yelled as he saw the man stretched out on the floor. The man's eyes darted left and right without seeing. Kazashi propped the man up and waved his hand in front of Tachibana's eyes, but the man didn't recognize him.

Kazashi screamed for a shinobi through the still open door. An off-duty answered his call first and together they took Tachibana to the hospital.

"This man looks like he's suffering from a severe infection, ulcers, and possibly a poisonous substance. Do you know what he came into contact with?" the doctor fired off as soon as she finished her initial assessment of Tachibana.

Kazashi shook his head, but when he went to explain, she shushed him.

"Since we don't know anything about the unknown substance, we'll need to quarantine you for 24 hours. Poisons of this caliber react immediately, but may or may not take time to exponentially escalate," she explained as she herded them into a pressurized ward.

"Um… what do you mean?" Kazashi asked. The shinobi beside him answered.

"Some poisons kill immediately; those are usually used for assassinations. Some poisons are weak and need months of ingestion to create problems, but once they do, deterioration of heath occurs uncontrollably. Select poisons have delayed symptoms; they're prime effectiveness occurs when they reach a certain process in the digestive system. This type is the type of poison that we need to worry about; the first would have already killed us, and the second we shouldn't need to worry about. Being that digestion occurs at the fastest several hours of ingestion, quarantining us for a day is best," the chuunin explained.

"Ah…" Kazashi said faintly, "Is there any way for me to contact my daughter about this?"

The doctor nodded.

"She will be notified. Now, an interrogator will be down in an hour to discuss what happened, until then, please rest," she gave them small, pitying smiles before locking them in.

Kazashi turned towards the chuunin.

"I'm really sorry to involve you," he apologized. The man laughed and shook his head.

"No problem. I was glad to help. But I would like to know what happened," the chuunin gave him a hard, assessing stare. Kazashi bowed his head.

"But I don't minding hearing it when the interrogator arrives," the brunette gave a reassuring smile, "Since we'll be spending a full 24 hours together, let's be amicable. I'm Umino Iruka."

"Haruno Kazashi."

"Oh! Sakura's father, right?" Iruka grinned. Surprised, Kazashi asked how the man knew.

"I'm an Academy Instructor," Iruka replied.

"A fine profession!" Kazashi exclaimed. The two discussed the pros and cons of education systems until, to the masked horror of Iruka, Mitarashi Anko interrogated them. And then proceeded to summon all of her snakes but Manda to see if any of them could 'sense' poisons on their persons so that the two could possibly leave earlier.

Kazashi honestly would have preferred staying for 24 hours at the hospital instead of being strapped down and slithered on by a myriad of snakes, even if he did leave twenty hours earlier.

* * *

Sarutobi was…

Anxious.

Perturbed.

Baffled.

Disgusted.

Upset.

Concerned.

A man came to the hospital with a poisoned friend, which in itself was troubling. Was it the work of an infiltrator, or more commonly, from a fellow villager?

The poison was unknown. Also troubling.

The man was said to have been coherent the day before, but was now a blubbering mess who spoke of the Senju clan. Tsunade, Sarutobi was sure, wasn't in Konoha; if anything, she was _very far _from Konoha. And she certainly didn't have a child. So, a delusional patient.

But what troubled the Hokage even more was that there were five other people missing. He'd almost ordered a full scale interrogation.

Then Dr. Narasawa burst into his office with a panicked expression. She'd pumped the man's stomach and taken blood samples to identify the poison. The blood tests showed that antibodies were running rampant in the blood, which meant that he had a significant amount of an incompatible blood type in his body.

Stomach tests showed that there was more than a pint of human blood in Tachibana Kuro's stomach.

Blood which belonged to Haruno Mebuki.

The amount suggested purposeful ingestion, not just an accidental splattering. There wasn't an indication of involuntary ingestion, but Hokage knew better than to immediately assume that it was voluntary.

Five other people were missing. No bodies found yet. No indication on if they planned to do something. Five people with a loose connection to each other were missing and a sixth was poisoned.

Testimonies from Umino Iruka and Haruno Kazashi sat on his desk, both useless.

Testimonies from Tachibana's neighbors were useless; they'd all be dead asleep.

None of the patrols saw any suspicious activity, just the usual party people and drunkards; neither of which could provide any pertinent details.

Sarutobi ordered a Yamanaka to poke around the man's memories, but she found nothing but broken shards.

Remembering his conversation with Kurama weeks ago, Sarutobi wondered if Danzo was involved, that old war hawk.

"Dog," he ordered. A shadow flickered in the corner before an Anbu stepped out of it.

"I have a mission for you."

* * *

Eight _Ne _members were dispatched to investigate the two agents that disappeared. There were no trails, but Danzo was confident in his agent's abilities. Instinct told him that someone knew of _Ne _and that the six missing people were a cover, and since it wasn't Sarutobi's style and the man thought that _Ne _had disbanded, someone else must have known.

But who?

Danzo steepled his fingers together and waited patiently.


End file.
